


feeling the weight of the world

by cashtonkink



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Basketball, Hate to Love, M/M, Sexual Content, Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-19
Updated: 2020-01-17
Packaged: 2020-05-29 14:18:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 22,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19402051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cashtonkink/pseuds/cashtonkink
Summary: duke university and the university of north carolina, ten miles apart, home to the most intense rivalry in all of college basketball. and now, they have the top two high school basketball recruits in the nation: ashton irwin and calum hood.





	1. february 17, 2016

the lives of two young men changed on the same day in the spring of 2015. 

shooting guard ashton irwin, the number one high school basketball recruit in the entire country, according to maxpreps, espn, and rivals sports, verbally committed to the university of north carolina just twenty minutes before shooting guard calum hood verbally committed to duke university. eyes immediately turned to february 17, 2016, the first game of the year between the two teams.

as calum hood and the rest of the duke basketball team rolled up to the dean smith center, he felt trepidation and worry creep up his spine. it always happened around this time, but this was arguably a bigger game than all of his past games combined. duke was ranked twentieth in the top twenty-five coaches poll, and north carolina was the fifth best team in the nation. there were a lot of teams in the nation. not to mention, the first meeting between him and ashton irwin, and the first of the year for duke and north carolina.

ashton irwin was not as worried. he knew he was going to have to go out there and shake this kid's hand, give the television personalities a good show, and then kick ass on the court. it's what he'd done for, up to now, his whole life. he was the number one recruit in the nation, and this "calum" kid just... wasn't. it wasn't a hard concept to understand. some people are just better than others.

the inevitable happened as ashton was stretching: a hoard of cameramen, women with microphones, and guests with passes gathered behind calum hood as he marched onto the court, friendly, albeit determined. ashton grunted, stood up, and found that they were eye-to-eye; identical in height. calum was the first to stick out his hand, a fluid, languid motion, while sticking out his tongue to lick his bottom lip free of the sweat that had collected. ashton could sense the nerves flying from this kid's soul.

he took the handshake, and calum pulled him in for a bro-hug. it was... fine, if not awkward, but the real moment ashton couldn't forget is one the cameras couldn't pick up.

calum, leaning in, found the perfect natural angle to whisper right in ashton's ear without alerting the cameras surrounding them. and when he did, he said only one thing:

"these next four years, i'm going to show you why i should've been number one."

he pulled away, still smiling, and it only took ashton a moment to plaster a sugary sweet expression on his face. it was over. time to get to work.

north carolina gained possession first, and immediately, the freshman in the powder blue advanced the ball up the court, passing it around a few times before seeing calum indecisive between guarding him or ashton's teammate, luke hemmings. ashton motioned for luke to advance with a slight nod forward, and then motioned for a pass with a nod backward, so luke dribbled, charged forward, and passed to a now open ashton, who easily hit the first shot of the night. 

it went back and forth the whole night, really. neither calum nor ashton guarded each other very much, and when they had, they'd been a bit physical, resulting in foul trouble for both freshmen. so, their coaches kept them away from each other.

it took the last possible possession for ashton to slowly shift back to guarding calum, and north carolina led by two, so ashton assumed that calum would just look to tie things up. he sagged back towards the key, giving calum space to either advance the ball into ashton's space, or pass it away and hope for someone else to save the day.

calum started to run forward suddenly when there were about 2.6 seconds on the clock. ashton, alarmed, moved backwards before realizing exactly what calum was going to do. calum smirked, stepped back, and nailed a three point jumpshot in ashton's face as time expired.

then, as the buzzer sounded and the crowd fell silent, calum blew him a kiss.

as the loudspeaker blared "final score, duke, seventy-four, north carolina, seventy-three," ashton hung his head, receiving sympathy pats from teammates as the now booing fans exited the arena. an interviewer walked up to ashton, who tried his best to look inviting while nursing the throbbing sting of the loss they'd just endured. things did not get better when she opened her mouth, asking him "it seemed as though you guys had this game won, so why is the score the way it is?"

ashton, internally scoffing at the question, could only offer "a stepback jumper."

the interviewer pressed on, however, adding "don't you think the number one recruit coming out of high school should expect a fake drive with two seconds left?"

ashton smiled, deciding the interview was over, offering only a "yep. thanks." before walking into the tunnel. his teammates and coach were already in the locker room, carpet cushiony under the freshman's shoes, muffling the squeaks, although the telltale squeak and swish of a fake and a basket was imprinted upon his brain.

calum, meanwhile, was still on the court, basking in the boos and insults being thrown his way by fans who hadn't left dejectedly yet. this was a very good time in his life. in fact, the best time. he had told that smug ashton irwin that he'd show him why calum was number one and not him, and here he was, on north carolina's center logo, being interviewed, booed at, and embraced by his teammates. 

as the next interviewer stepped up, dressed in powder blue, calum slowly subdued his excitement to deal with a bitter fan masquerading as an interviewer.

"so, calum hood, congrats on your win today in the best arena in college basketball."

calum smiled innocently, replying with "thanks! no place i'd rather win, huh?"

the interviewer gave a terse laugh and continued. "people obviously knew you weren't better than ashton irwin, and i can't say anyone is convinced you are now, even after the lucky shot. listen to this stat line: you had thirty-seven points, eight assists, and four rebounds, while irwin had thirty-four points, _thirteen_ rebounds, and four assists."

calum looked dumbly at the man. "what does that say to me? what's your point?"

"ashton is better than you where it counts. in rebounds, in leading with class on and off the court, and in high school game. and what's with the kiss at the end? something that girly doesn't belong in this game."

calum bristled, and tried to control his tongue, which only worked halfway. "read the score on that scoreboard. what does it say?" 

the interviewer begrudgingly muttered "duke seventy-four, north carolina seventy-three."

"exactly. duke seventy-four, north carolina seventy-three. we won. i don't care about the stat line. i don't care about who you think is better, because you're a dick in a suit i hope for your sake i'll never see again. i don't care how anyone feels about the kiss. _especially_ about the kiss. why? go ask ashton irwin about it- he might not say it, but he's going to have nightmares about that kiss for the rest of his life. that's why. get your damn camera out of my face."

as calum walked off the court, good mood gone, he realized that he probably should've taken his coach up on that "dealing with media" crash course. but the only thing he could feel over the disgust was the adrenaline, reminding him that he had taken the first game. reminding him that he was better than ashton irwin.


	2. march 5, 2016

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the second game between the two boys is meant as entertainment for the media, but is treated as life or death for the two teams.

by february 18, 2016, ashton had shaken most of the memories of the last game out of his head. now, his head was focused on march 5, 2016: a chance to redeem himself. he hated that he’d let calum hit that game-winner, and he hated seeing it on sportscenter for weeks even more. but march 5 would be the day ashton erased everyone’s memory of the previous meeting.

as it approached, ashton was getting pretty tired of seeing calum boast, brag, and puff his chest out on instagram, and he’d seen that photo of calum blowing the kiss on his twitter more than anywhere else. so, naturally, he had something to say about it.

@ashtonirwinunc: tar heel fans! join your tar heels at cameron indoor stadium march 5 as north carolina takes on duke for the second- and FINAL- time of the year! see all your favorites ball out and take that W back #redemption

ashton sent it after revising it multiple times. it was harmless now, but that didn’t keep calum from immediately replying to it.

@calumhood: we aren’t you. we don’t lose on home court.

ashton’s cheeks reddened as he shifted through his brain for a reply. he was just beginning to formulate one when another came. it was a kissing emoji, and that photo of the jumper. ashton saw red for a brief moment and replied instantaneously.

@ashtonirwinunc: i don’t know if you know this, but having your shining basketball moment during your freshman year does not look good when scouts look back on your draft stock. assuming you make it that far. but hey, you made a bucket right?

calum didn’t reply, and although that probably shouldn’t have made ashton feel as good as it did, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride that sustained even as he showed up to the interview table a few days before the game.

the first interviewer asked a question to luke hemmings, who was a great player too, but he wasn’t really on the level that ashton and calum were. he still liked him though, and understood the hype around him. his question was about a rivalry he had with michael clifford of duke, much like ashton and calum. once that was over, it seemed like every head in the room turned to ashton.

“ashton, hi, zayn malik from the tar heel tribune. while i- and every other student at north carolina- appreciate the twitter exchange, many NBA scouts noted a lack of maturity on your side in the aftermath of the exchange. how do you think this changes your draft stock?”

ashton smiled. “hi, zayn. currently, i’m not really focused on the NBA. i know it’s unlike a lot of other talents my age, but i’m not entering the draft this year. i have a championship to win, and i’m going to stay until it happens. i’m not a one hit wonder; i love this university and would like to stay as long as they’ll have me. then i will talk about the NBA.”

the room cheered, and ashton realized he probably just made the front page of a lot of newspapers and sports shows. he didn’t know what was with the culture recently, but it was just in his nature to help the school and the area first before he helped himself. the conference dragged for a bit after that, and ashton was thankful to hear the familiar “one last question!” from the media director. he was zoned out as a media member called his name.

“ashton! hey, laura carter from the washington post.” ashton sat up straighter. the washington post? that’s pretty big for a press conference about a basketball game- why was she here?

“i think every basketball fan in the country is overjoyed that you’re staying another year, but i’m still focused on march fifth. obviously, calum has a leg up on you where mind games are concerned. how do you deal with _any_ game knowing that calum won the first game over you?”

ashton bristled slightly, but covered it with a closed grin. “hello laura, nice to see the washington post at this conference and not duke’s.” that earned him a laugh from the crowd. “to answer your question, i sleep just fine at night. i’m sure you know my stats for this season, and i’m sure you know that our status as a national tournament team is simply a formality. yeah, it makes for a good photo, but what does it really mean? he’s a one hit wonder who made a nice shot at my expense. i promise you it won’t happen again the next time we play. i won’t go as far as saying i’m going to lock him down, because even number two in the nation has talent, but it’s going to be hard for him to top the lucky performance he had last time we played.”

as the north carolina press conference was ending, the duke press conference was falling apart. calum had been pissed all week, and didn’t really want to answer any questions today. naturally, all the questions went to him. he’d answered questions as curtly as he could, and the media members were not happy.

“calum, the twitter exchange between you and ashton was a great way for you to expose him as immature and underdeveloped. if you could say anything to him, especially after his comments just a few minutes, what would you say?”

“where is the camera?” his teammates cautiously pointed at the camera in use. “ashton irwin, you are a fraud. the only way you will win on saturday is if i die in the middle of the game and they have to put someone else on you as a formality. see you then.”

the press conference pretty much died after that. as calum stewed behind the set, michael walked up to him. “cal, listen, i know you don’t want to hear this, but you got to get him out of your head. with the mindset you have, you’re going to foul out before you can even score a point on saturday. coach is even talking about benching you when ashton is on the court, and i don’t want that for anyone, especially you. as your roommate, teammate, and friend, you gotta let this die a little. it’s dangerous to play with such a mental block.”

calum really appreciated the sentiment, but all it did was go in one ear and out the other. he was incensed that ashton would say all those fake nice, condescending things about him. he thanked michael, excused himself, and went back to the house.

when saturday came, calum was all business. the pregame press didn’t get much out of him, and there was no handshake this time. in fact, calum and ashton both had a foul before five minutes were up, and the crowd could feel the tension rising. ashton posterized calum early in the game with a windmill dunk, followed by ashton taking a huge step over a stunned calum, which resulted in calum spitting his mouthpiece at him, earning a technical foul. after that, though, calum (and duke) went off.

calum was hitting shots over everyone on the tar heels, and he’d been a perfect ten for ten when halftime hit. calum looked up at the scoreboard, reading DUKE 50, VISITORS 38, and reveled in the cheers from the crowd. as he hit the locker room, ashton was hitting anything in his path.

ashton stormed into his locker room, and quickly gathered his team together in the middle of the room, where he stood right over the duke logo. “hey, everyone! we have been playing a fine game. but _not_ a game worthy of a win- or a game befitting the number eight team in the country. i have to step up, and i promise i will. but i need to know that you guys will too.” his teammates spoke his hope into existence, and that was it. a duke attendant notified them that the second half was about to start, and they marched back out.

at first, calum thought that maybe they’d tightened their defense. or maybe he’d let his guard down too much. he wasn’t sure what, but he knew that _something_ was happening that was not happening in the first half. his first theory was ruled out when they started scoring. or, more specifically, when ashton started scoring over him. and yeah, he got a few baskets in too, but it wasn’t like they were doing anything different- it really felt like they woke up from a nap and had turned the intensity up to one hundred.

he figured it was the second theory after they watched their twelve point lead disappear completely and their coach called a timeout after ashton scored the tying basket. and for calum, there was nothing more intense than being yelled at by mike krzyzewski.

they fought neck and neck for the remaining few minutes, and then calum did something he usually refused to do to anyone, much less ashton irwin: intentionally fouled. the score was in favor of north carolina, there were twenty seconds left, and he figured that the home crowd would shake ashton enough to only hit one of his two and put them up by a precarious three.

ashton knew what calum was thinking, and he couldn’t be more excited to prove him wrong. as the crowd behind the net waved props, and the entire arena shook with noise, ashton sank his first free throw. he stretched out his body, shook his shoulders, and then somehow, the stadium became even louder. he couldn’t even hear his thoughts, much less anyone else, but still turned around to calum to mouth “watch the fraud do this.”

ashton sank his final free throw, and twenty seconds later, the buzzer sounded. north carolina had won, at duke, by four points. ashton could only turn around and blow a kiss at calum before being mobbed by his teammates.


	3. february 9, 2017

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> finally some action with the boys :)

the two boys’ freshman years went in two different directions after that night. 

duke didn’t get past the second round in the conference tournament. north carolina won the whole thing.

duke didn’t get past the sweet sixteen in the national tournament (which isn’t bad, but still). north carolina made it all the way to the national championship, losing at the last second. 

however, the off-season reversed the two teams’ fortunes. as always, somehow duke finessed the best recruiting class. north carolina’s new class was rated fifth. which, truthfully, wasn’t bad at all. teams would kill to have the fifth best recruiting class in the country; it just wasn’t good enough for ashton.

the teams, even with the recruits, remained mostly unchanged. so when the two teams geared up to face each other for the first time in the two boys’ sophomore year, it was a tale of familiarity and maturity. ashton had taken note of how quiet calum had been this offseason. ashton actually felt marginally bad for calum during the post game interview, where he said he was “embarrassed” and “ashamed to be wasting a spot on this storied team.”

so yeah, calum had been almost completely silent on twitter. ashton, meanwhile, had gone on somewhat of a world tour during the off-season. he played basketball in france, italy, canada, and even south africa. ashton’s summer was well documented, but he was worried because calum’s was the opposite. he had no clue what calum was doing, and that unnerved ashton to no end.

he only really got a glimpse of calum’s summer when they met on the court before their first game. calum had bulked up considerably, and he was about as big as ashton now, if not bigger. ashton felt a strange feeling in his stomach when he shook hands with calum. his grip, once unsure, was now firm and assertive, and his piercing gaze made ashton feel way smaller than calum, even though he had a few inches on the boy. he recognized the feeling, and it shocked him to his  
core: it was arousal. 

ashton leaned in during their handshake to whisper “now i see what you’ve been doing over the summer.” calum just grinned, said nothing, released the handshake, and walked away. well,  
okay.

although ashton was at a mental disadvantage with his weird calum-related feelings and the fans at cameron indoor stadium going crazier every second, he hung in the game pretty well. he was amazed at the strength of calum, who once could play point guard. it’s like he learned a whole new position over the summer. he was setting screens and perfectly passing to the open man, and ashton realized they probably moved calum’s secondary position to small forward, which would do nothing but make ashton’s life a living hell. 

his assertion was nothing but solidified when, as luke hemmings rebounded the ball, he passed it to an already down-court ashton, who went up for a layup. calum had somehow raced down the court to contest it. from his shock bloomed anger, and he nailed calum with a laser precise elbow to the nose on the way up to the basket. calum immediately went down, and ashton saw blood on the court. calum held his face as trainers immediately rushed to the star with towels, and ashton didn’t really feel all that bad. he probably should’ve passed it off as unintentional, but all he could think about was how _good_ the boos filling the arena sounded. and when the referee whistled ashton out of the game, forcing him to walk to the locker room early, he didn’t feel bad at all.

well, until he heard a loud rumble and  
looked up at the monitor, seeing how calum insisted he go back on the court, blood mostly cleaned up from his face and the floor. ashton’s jaw dropped as he watched calum score ten unanswered points. when the buzzer sounded, duke had won. once ashton closed his mouth, he peeked his head out of the doorway to see at least five members of the media waiting for him. he guessed he would face the music.

“ashton, do you regret the elbow now that you lost?”

“well-“

“ashton, would you say you’re a dirty player?”

“i don’t think-“

“ashton, are you scared you won’t get drafted after your latest episode on the court?”

“excuse me?”

luckily, the media director rescued ashton before he could be mobbed any further. the director whisked him away to a back entrance, where he retrieved his car.

ashton went to his car with his jaw open all over again, wondering if this day could get any worse. once the overhead light of his car turned off, he leaned his head forward against the wheel to cry. he was upset about a lot of things, really, but most of all, he didn’t want this season to be like last season. he was so close to bringing glory not to himself, but to his team. there was also the handshake.

he’d been replaying that handshake in his head obsessively since it happened. the way calum’s biceps flexed as he shook his hand, the gained muscle mass, the smirk plastered across his face, even (and especially) the image of a bloodied calum looking up at ashton with contempt. all of it made his head swim with the images he’d imagined of him smearing the blood across his face, licking it off his face, calum hitting him back, calum being a little rough as he pulls him up by the hair... it was all too much for ashton to think about without crying in shame.

the funniest thing is that ashton is the poster child of college basketball and nobody knows his biggest secret. hell, ashton didn’t even know his biggest secret until tonight, seemingly out of nowhere. he forced it out of his mind, wiped his eyes, and set off to the gas station. his housemate had asked for cigarettes last night and he wanted to honor his request eventually, and he had time to kill, so he thought he’d do it right now.

as ashton rolled up to the gas station, a car rolled up beside him, windows tinted. he got out and took maybe five steps before someone was dragging him to the (unlit) side of the building. he shoved the man in the face once they were on the side of the building, and he was going to run away, but he felt sticky fluid on his hand as it retreated. slowly, he looked up, and saw calum.

calum’s jaw was set, biceps bulging through the simple t-shirt he was wearing. carefully, he moved his hand under ashton’s eyes, and wiped away a tear ashton had been ignoring. he cocked his head curiously, and then seemed to remember something, as he narrowed his brows and wiped his nose. then, angrily, he wiped his hand over ashton’s face, smearing blood all over him. ashton shuddered with arousal. _fuck_ , it’s like calum read his mind. while he was still recovering from the blood now drying on his face, calum leaned in and kissed ashton.

it was messy, full of contempt, anger, and secrets. their tongues tangled and clashed, their teeth got in the way, calum pulled on ashton’s hair, and when calum finally pulled away a bit, he leaned in, and dragged his tongue down ashton’s cheek, leaving a clear path where it had been against the crimson-stained skin. calum grinned, again, and turned to leave, but ashton grabbed on his bicep and pulled him back. his mind raced a million miles a minute as he was trying to censor the words his brain were throwing around the walls of his skull. in the end, he came up with “fuck me. please,” which came roaring out of ashton’s throat as a desperate plea.

calum laughed, shook his head, pulled away from ashton’s grip, and went back to his car. he hadn’t said a word.


	4. march 4, 2017

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> wee woo wee woo gay police gotta make an arrest

in few words, ashton was perplexed. _really_ perplexed. aroused, too. he wiped the blood off of his face (reluctantly), and ended up just getting back in his car and going home. after a few days of contemplation, he messaged calum on instagram, not even bothering to follow him first.

ashtonirwinunc: i don’t know why you did what you did a few days ago, but if you ever want to do it again, you know where to find me.

ashton’s message sat in calum’s message requests for a few days, which ashton had expected. he figured calum received a lot of messages from fans and didn’t reply, unlike ashton. ashton was a people person, always wanting younger kids to look up to him and use him as inspiration to perfect their craft in the sport. 

just when he’d given up on receiving a reply, he received one.

calumhood: i don’t know what you’re talking about. don’t message me.

ashton snorted, before screenshotting the exchange and deleting the messages. if calum wanted to play that game, ashton would play. 

on the day of march 4, ashton had a plan set in his mind. he was going to get to the bottom of calum’s confusing, erotic, strange behavior. when he got to the arena, he did the normal warmups, and when duke’s basketball team got to the dean smith center, he watched for calum, who seemed to be pointedly ignoring ashton’s glare. 

when calum disappeared, ashton told his coach he had to use the bathroom. as he high-fived some fans, he went into the tunnel calum had previously gone through. after doing some looking, he decided to use the bathroom and continue after. he didn’t have to look long, however, because the small side bathroom contained the tan boy. 

“oh. uh, hey ashton.”

ashton smiled. “hey, calum. any big gas station trips recently?”

calum immediately soured. “you need to stop thinking about that. forget it happened. i did, and my life is all the better for it.”

ashton laughed at that, and locked the door. “you forgot? do you want something you’d remember?” he slowly inched towards calum, putting his hands on the man’s large shoulders, fingers raising in elevation as they closed over calum’s traps. he was squarely in calum’s face now, raising his eyebrow- a silent plea to put his lips on the tan skin.

calum was having an internal battle, and ashton sensed it, so he surged forward and kissed him on the cheek softly. calum grabbed ashton’s jaw, and stared into his eyes. ashton saw everything happening in calum’s brain. the lust, the confusion, the trepidation, but most importantly: permission.

ashton kissed calum, snaking his arm around the back of his neck, as calum rested his hands at the top of ashton’s hips. calum’s hands slowly inched lower and lower, eventually grabbing ashton’s (surprisingly round) ass and squeezing, causing ashton to involuntarily lurch forward, rubbing their crotches together. both boys moaned and huffed, backing away, just for ashton to reattach himself to calum’s neck.

ashton reached his free hand to cup calum’s dick through his warmup sweats, nearly salivating at how big it felt through the sweatpants. his vision blurred with arousal, and before he could stop it, the words “let me suck you” tumbled out of his mouth. calum nodded eagerly, pulling the sweats, his shorts, and his boxers down before ashton could even get on his knees.

ashton sank down, and eyed the huge cock with envy and hunger. he slowly took the tip of it in his mouth, sucking the precome off of it, before taking his mouth off and running his tongue on the underside of it, allowing calum’s balls to stuff themselves in his mouth. calum moaned pretty loud, and ashton had to pinch him to (hopefully) remind him to be quiet. he slowly trailed back up to his dick, and went down as far as he could, earning a tug on his hair from calum.

he could tell calum was getting close when his hips started making short, rough thrusts back and forth, almost like he was trying not to fuck ashton’s mouth but couldn’t fully contain himself. he let calum thrust into his mouth, praying that his gag reflex would behave like it had been. calum started whispering lots of things, mostly ashton’s name, but also how pretty ashton was and how good his mouth was. ashton pulled calum out and started to stroke him, putting the tan boy’s dick on his tongue, looking straight into calum’s eyes.

this, of course, sent calum into a frenzy, coming _hard_ into ashton’s mouth, getting some on his lip and even his nose, watching in awe as ashton swallowed pretty much all of it. calum reached down, swiping some of his semen off of ashton’s nose and putting his finger near ashton’s mouth. ashton took calum’s whole finger in his mouth, sucking seductively, before pulling off of calum’s finger with a pop. this action alone almost made calum hard again. 

ashton got up, dusted his knees off, ignoring his erection, and simply said “see you on the court, hood. hope you remember this.”

when they met on the court, ashton knew he’d thrown calum off of his game. his ballhandling was atrocious, his form was different from usual, his shot IQ was borderline terrible, and north carolina took the lead pretty easily, leaving michael clifford to do most of the work for the blue devils. 

at one point, just to really fuck with calum, he drove right past him to the rim, hesitated so calum could get in front of him, and then dunked over him, using his free arm to initiate plenty of contact, shoving calum over. to the delight of the crowd, ashton flexed over the stunned, prone body of calum. to ashton’s momentary shock, he could see that calum was hard. ashton turned around quickly and focused on defense.

at the end of the game, calum had only mustered up six points. he hung his head and went straight to the locker room, utterly ashamed. all night, he had watched ashton, muscles flexing, face etched in concentration, and hot shame washed over calum when he realized ashton had seen him get hard after the dunk. sure, calum could chalk it up to a man’s body doing what it does, but ashton would know. ashton knew everything.

he got on the bus for the short drive back to duke, and the only man that dared get involved with the brooding boy was jack white, a sophomore from australia, who jokingly traced shapes on calum’s arm to try and cheer him up. calum shot him a smile for his efforts, but continued to sulk.

once he got back to his house, he sent out a tweet full of emotion and humility.

@calumhood: extremely disappointed in myself. let the team down, the fans down, my parents down, and myself down. i will be better. i promise.

not too long after, he got a text from michael, which read only _for the love of  
god do not check twitter._ naturally, calum checked twitter, where he was directed to a reply to his tweet.

REPLY TO @calumhood: @ashtonirwinunc: i would be disappointed too. 

attached to that tweet was a photo of ashton flexing over calum. the familiar hot flash of shame washed over him, and he could feel his dick hardening. he knew it was sick, but he immediately DMed ashton.

calumhood: i need your number

ashtonirwinunc: call me on here. i know what you want.

calum hit the phone icon, and in no time ashton was speaking.

“i bet you’re so hard right now, aren’t you, stupid slut? you love it when i throw you around, huh? when i embarrass you? you were awful out there today. you deserved every shove you got.”

calum’s face burned, and his throat tightened, but he still forced out a small “i deserve it.”

ashton jumped on it. “yeah, you do, don’t you? you’ll always be number two. i bet you’re palming yourself over my reply right now, aren’t you? didn’t think you’d ever see a photo? i know better than that. i know you. you _want_ to see it. maybe next time i’ll choke you like sprewell. you want that? you want everyone to see you get choked by me? how pathetic. you’re my size now and you still can’t stop with the contact. you want to be close to me, huh? maybe i should’ve given you a handjob instead, that seems like more your style-“

calum had been stroking himself through ashton’s filthy monologue, and he cut ashton off with a loud whine, signaling his climax. ashton did not ease the pressure as he worked calum through his orgasm, snarling insults at him. once calum’s breathing became inaudible, all ashton had to say was “of course that made you come. you’re pathetic.” and hung up. calum wasn’t even mad. 


	5. march 10, 2017

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> baby’s first conference tournament, things are only looking up from here :)

calum knew he’d have to face the music at some point. that point, however, came sooner than he’d previously thought.

after virginia tech collapsed against syracuse, it turned out that fourteenth ranked duke and sixth ranked north carolina would be matched up again, just six days after calum’s meltdown, all the way in brooklyn. 

so naturally, there was media at the practice the day after that horrid game.

“calum, any explanation as to why you underperformed so bad against north carolina yesterday?”

“yeah, everyone has bad games. granted, i guess mine are horrendous. won’t happen again, boss, especially not in five days in brooklyn. that’s a promise for everyone.”

“okay, words are words. speaking of words, anything to say to ashton irwin after he locked you down last night and then humiliated you on twitter?”

calum smiled before picking up his workout bag. “wise men don’t say much. fools say a lot.” and then he turned and entered the facility.

the media circus continued painfully for calum, as they seemed to point out all of his inaccuracies and faults every day leading up to the big game. yeah, this was a big game, and the press coverage was damn near national, but it seemed kind of unfair to calum. although, he guessed, that’s probably just how media is.

ashton, in contrast, was being hailed as a hero. it was clear he wasn’t nervous, and calum was pissed, because even though he had a bad game, that didn’t give anyone the right to relax.

the day of the game, ashton played relaxed too. which is fine, or it would be, except for calum played the most intense game of his life. in the first few minutes, he charged into ashton, barreling over him and earning a foul just because he could. ashton quickly got up and yelled at calum, who, just for television, screamed back, calling him a coward and a joke, and as the referees separated them, he blew a kiss at ashton, not missing ashton catching it and smirking. 

after that, calum continued to light up the entire team, setting screens to get ashton off of him, leaving him to match up with weaker players like niall horan and luke hemmings, who simply didn’t have the ability to stop the influx of talent.

as the final buzzer sounded, ashton dejectedly walked off the court, leaving calum to cut down the net and hold the acc championship trophy. when he leapt off the ladder onto his teammates, knocking them down, he briefly saw ashton deep inside the tunnel smiling fondly at the joyous younger boy. he quickly turned around, facing the media that just hours ago had doubted him and written him off. 

“calum, a career high fifty-four points couldn’t have come at a more opportune time, huh? what fueled your stellar performance?”

calum thought aloud, saying “do i plug gatorade or shame the media?” before michael ran up and gave him a big kiss on the cheek, gleefully laughing with calum. “the crowd, gatorade, the doubts of others, and the simple fact that you can only lock me down for so long. now, we are going to the national tournament!”

of course he knew north carolina was going too, but he could barely believe the selection committee just one day later when he sat with his team to reveal the bracket and north carolina was the fourth #1 seed. yeah, duke was the next best team, according to the committee, but they had beaten them in the championship game, so why were they below them?

calum watched the tar heel’s first game carefully, as they blew out texas southern. as for duke, they beat troy pretty easily, with calum scoring thirty points. the whole team played angry. in the next round, they were due to face south carolina, which calum didn’t see as much of a challenge. in fact, he told the media he was focused on the winner of USC/baylor when they asked about their next game. 

north carolina dispatched of arkansas fairly easily, and when the buzzer sounded on duke’s game, they’d been sent home by a seven seed, losing by an outrageous seven points. calum was crushed, and his coach seemed to save the worst anger for him, expressing his extreme annoyance at the interview where he simply shrugged off the south carolina team. 

calum watched the next game ashton was in, and then the next, and then the next. and soon enough, they had won the national championship, bulb flashes familiar to calum but unfamiliar to ashton, who was cutting down the net and crying, finally achieving his goal of winning a title for his team. and when asked if he was staying another year even though he’d completed his goal, calum still couldn’t catch a break.

ashton chirped “of course! i want to win another!” in a euphoric, joyous haze. calum left the stadium.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter is SO GOOD!!! things are gonna pick up really fast stay tuned


	6. february 8, 2018

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> enjoy. sorry.

once again, calum went quiet over the summer on social media. ashton spent his whole summer incredulously checking calum’s social media. he couldn’t get any bigger, could he? he was getting pretty tough to guard towards the end of the year, and ashton didn’t want to have to start bulking up. he’d look like a professional wrestler if he got any bigger, and his height already determined that he should probably be playing forward if not for his elite shooting skills.

in the middle of the summer, while ashton was practicing with luke at the dean smith center, his phone dinged, telling him he’d been mentioned in a tweet- an ominous one, at that.

_@calumhood_ : @ashtonirwinunc that net is mine this year. #devilup

ashton scoffed, but luke was suddenly in his ear telling him that this might be the only tweet he’d send all summer. it made ashton feel kind of special. that didn’t mean, however, that the trash talk wouldn’t commence.

_REPLY TO @calumhood_ : _@ashtonirwinunc_ : come take it. make it out of the second round first.

it seemed like almost no time elapsed before calum had replied.

_REPLY TO @ashtonirwinunc_ : _@calumhood_ : acc champs

ashton laughed this time, because yeah, sure, but who’d won the championship? calum was desperately gripping onto the past.

_REPLY TO @calumhood_ : _@ashtonirwinunc_ : waste of an automatic bid. see ya feb 8 don’t choke #devildown

calum didn’t reply. ashton went on with his business, and the school year started. calum was generally pretty active on twitter, but they stayed as far away as they could from each other. duke was having a fantastic year, ranked at number nine, while north carolina had some trouble incorporating their freshmen into their rotation, and as such had gone from number one to number twenty one.

even though duke was rolling up to the tar heels’ dean smith center, they were still favored. there was infinite media intrigue on how calum and ashton would play against each other, seeing as michael was having kind of a breakout junior year, overshadowing calum as much as calum could be overshadowed, and ashton was having the best season, statistically, of his college career. he was average double doubles three months into the season, and if he’d had more help, they’d probably be undefeated.

as such, when the ball tipped, the crowd in the dean smith center was electric. they were neck and neck most of the game, and when michael clifford was at the foul line after a huge foul from luke hemmings, ashton decided to take the game into his own hands. michael hit the first free throw to put duke up by one, and ashton glanced at the clock. there were only fourteen seconds left, and he figured michael would sink this next free throw, so ashton thought to attempt to throw calum off his game.

ashton leaned over to fix his laces as michael prepared to shoot, and as he began to stand upright, he leaned over to calum and ghosted a kiss to his cheek. calum gaped at ashton, who was further away from the basket, and michael missed the second free throw. ashton yelled “hemmings, airline!” and boxed out calum to grab the rebound, shoving the shocked man, sending him stumbling. ashton then risked a full-court pass to luke, who’d taken the cue from ashton to sprint down the court.

luke caught it, and effortlessly shot a three-pointer to put them up by two. the dean smith center _erupted_ in cheers, calum stood, red faced, and duke’s coach called a timeout. there were still eight seconds left.

as calum inbounded the ball, ashton just knew they were going to run a play at his expense. calum dribbled for maybe two seconds, and immediately ran at ashton. ashton began to back up, before deciding against it and coming up with another plan. ashton stopped backing up, and when calum lightly made contact with him, ashton threw himself to the floor as convincingly as he could.

yeah, he flopped. so what?

he laid there and prayed the referees would call it as calum shot a clean two-pointer. as he released the ball, the referee whistled and called charging on calum. ashton turned to lay on his stomach, smiling and cheering, as the crowd exploded again. calum was _irate_ , arguing the call with the ref, and michael plus jack needed to corral him back to the bench in order for irwin to shoot his free throws.

ashton made his way to the line, basking in the mostly silent crowd, and behind him, he could hear calum continuing his fit. it was music to his ears. he made the first one, and likewise the second one. there were two seconds left, and north carolina was up by four.

when the buzzer sounded, and the man over the PA announced “north carolina, eighty-two, duke, seventy-eight!” ashton celebrated with his team, jubilantly jumping up and down. they’d just upset duke- at home! it was an amazing feeling.

calum, however, was not feeling amazing. he shrugged out of michael’s grip and found a camera crew on the court. he noticed that the female reporter was holding an ESPN microphone, and he couldn’t think of better luck to have at this time.

the lady- doris burke- looked kind of empathetic, and he actually got off-track for a second, telling her how much he respected her work in basketball and reporting. he asked her for an interview, and she motioned for the cameraman to start rolling. calum leaned down, asking “are we live?” doris gave calum a curious look, so calum followed with “i get nervous.” doris shot him a reassuring smile. “yes, sir, but i’ve seen you before- you’ll be just fine.”

doris threw him a softball out of pity, which is exactly what calum wanted. “hi everyone, i’m here with calum hood. calum, what are your feelings about the call at the end of the game?”

calum steadied his breath and smiled, feeling nervous suddenly. “well, obviously, i’m a little disheartened by the act itself. fifteen minutes ago, i respected ashton irwin for his commitment to the game and for keeping our rivalry on the court mostly clean. but now, i’ve got something to say. although he was number one when we entered the college basketball world, he’s proven tonight that he’s not even in the top 100. he’s a dirty fluke with a bad jumpshot, and the only days he’s cooked me are the days i’ve let him so his team can continue to grip onto relevancy. and doris? i’ve got some breaking news to announce. ashton irwin is gay. he’s hit on me multiple times while in the same space and has texted me many times on social media. it’s made me very uncomfortable, and tonight, it ends. thanks for your time, doris. i love your work.”

calum walked away from a shocked doris burke, who might have apologized to the viewers. calum didn’t care. calum walked past ashton celebrating and taking pictures with fans, oblivious to what just happened. good. calum would let him have this moment.


	7. march 3, 2018

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the fallout
> 
> tw; gay slurs

ashton continued to celebrate the win with fans and was about to go into the tunnel when doris burke walked up to him. she didn’t have a microphone, though, and there weren’t any cameramen surrounding her. she looked worried, and, as such, ashton began to worry. it’s sad that ashton’s first thought was if calum was okay, but that didn’t make it a lie. doris leaned into ashton and put a hand on his back.

“ashton, i wanted to be the first to tell you, because i felt really guilty about this. calum hood asked for an interview just a few minutes ago, and he insulted you pretty bad. that’s normal, though, and not what i came over to tell you. he also- and i don’t know if it’s true. frankly, i don’t care, that’s your business- outed you. he said you were gay and accused you of some sketchy stuff. if i knew what his intentions were, i wouldn’t have taken the interview request, but by the time he was done, we couldn’t edit the footage or delay it. everyone watching the postgame saw it. i’ve told the station not to re-air it, but i don’t know who else saw it and captured it. i’m so sorry, ashton.”

ashton’s throat felt clamped shut. he gave her a hug, muttered his thanks, and practically ran into the tunnel towards his locker room. he came in to a silent room full of his teammates watching the monitor display calum outing him. claiming ashton messaged him on social media, saying ashton followed him places- his mouth hung open. when he looked away from the screen, all eyes were on him. some of his teammates gave sympathetic looks, and others looked angry. he knew things had changed, however, when his coach let out a sigh, and gave ashton a look that was a mix of betrayal and agony. luke walked forward and softly said “ashton, i don’t care who you’re into. i don’t care that you didn’t tell us. the only thing i care about is if you’re okay. if the other teammates don’t pass the ball to you because you’re gay, fuck them.”

ashton’s eyes widened, and he began to step backwards towards the entryway. “luke- not gay. not gay. i gotta-“ and turned and ran. he ran out of the arena, past news crews, and into the private lot where his car was stationed.

as he started to get into his car, he saw the duke bus drive by. every single member of the team was looking at him, some laughing, some just staring blankly. calum, however, was staring angrily at him, like calum was the one who’d been hurt and betrayed. outed on national television. suddenly, ashton ran after the bus, stopped at a stoplight.

he ran right up to calum’s window, and he knew calum could hear him.

“you ruined my career over a flop and a bad call! you outed me because you lost a game! you need to get real! you are a fucking joke! i can’t believe i ever told you anything!” ashton was crying now, and calum’s expression softened, but as the bus drove away, ashton caught michael miming fellatio at ashton. his stomach dropped, and he walked back to his car, sobbing. luke ran up to him and wrapped him in a hug. “hey, ashton, shhh. it’s okay. i’m gonna ride back with you in your car instead of taking the bus. i’ll go back home with you. is that okay?” ashton just nodded.

once they were in the car, luke took his hand. “ashton, i have to tell you a secret. i don’t know if you know this, but you are so brave. i don’t know what your sexuality is, but people are going to either think you’re gay or calum is bitter. they might be correct with both. but by just existing, being as talented as you are, and winning a championship for this team, you have instantly captured the hearts of so many young LGBT+ athletes who don’t know if it’s okay to come out. including me.”

ashton sent luke a curious look. “yeah, ash. i’m bisexual. you’re not alone. i will go with you wherever you go. i am not just your teammate. i am your friend. your brother. and i will not let you face this by yourself.” luke lifted his phone, where ashton read a tweet that read “ _let me take some of the attention off my brother @ashtonirwinunc: i’m bisexual and proud of it. it’s time for the inclusion of ALL lgbt+ athletes.”_

ashton leaned forward and hugged luke, kissing him on the cheek. “luke, i’m gay.”

luke smiled. “i know.”

unfortunately, others weren’t as nice. ashton tried to look at the positives: calum was being pretty much universally shamed, a lot of athletes from around the world had been coming out because of ashton, and his coming out video he’d sent on twitter had received a mostly positive response. however, the stress of being outed was lost on many (male) media members. fox news denounced him, barstool sports had used him for many cruel excuses for memes, and male fans of college basketball had already casted him off, for the most part.

the stress of being outed had also taken a physical toll on him. his hair was falling out, he couldn’t stop throwing up, and he couldn’t get the appetite to eat. he was constantly fatigued, and eventually, he had to be hospitalized, because he was so ill and out of sorts that it felt like his body was turning against him. he’d been in the hospital for a week before they let him leave, prescribing him antidepressants, antianxiety meds, and an appetite inducer. the team, even without their star, rallied around him, and were doing pretty well for themselves.

ashton started working out and practicing in a private location three weeks after the interview, and four days before the next duke game, he attended a team practice, where his appearance was cheered wildly by a crowd that had gathered. he was feeling better, but come gameday, coach williams decided that ashton still wasn’t up to the level of play ashton would be happy with. so, coach listed ashton as “out” for “personal reasons” once again. only this time, he’d be on the bench. he didn’t stick around for about 90% of the media day for the game, but he sat in on one session, where the members of the audience cheered loudly upon his arrival.

once he’d been settled, he started with a question from someone familiar- doris burke.

“hi, ashton. it’s been a wild month without you, and it’s been a wild month in your life as well. i know you visited the hospital for a while, have stayed mostly off social media, and have started working out at dean smith again. anything else to report?”

ashton smiled. “hi, doris. you pretty much nailed my recovery, although i won’t be playing today. i will, however. be on the bench, ready to cheer on my team.”

doris seemed to look curiously at ashton before asking her next question. “i’d let it go if we were at your home stadium, but we’re at cameron indoor stadium. i’m finding myself simultaneously questioning your decision and proud of your guts- do you see the potential conflict though? the duke fans still haven’t forgiven you for the end of the last game.”

ashton shrugged. “over the past month, i’ve learned that not everyone has to like me. i can use my platform for good- which i intend to do. as for the crowd, it’s going to be hard to ignore all those people screaming and deriding me, but it’s part of the healing process, i guess. we’ll see. i just hope i’m good to play again soon. it’s been really hard to lose so much weight and muscle and sit in the hospital and at home watching my team instead of playing with them.”

after the media interviews, north carolina was introduced. as ashton ran through the tunnel in jeans and a north carolina jersey, he was booed. it was no different than usual, honestly, so he just tuned it out. however, as he made his way to the bench, a chant broke out. he couldn’t recognize it at first, and then he did, all at once.

_“faggot! faggot!”_

his stomach started a fire. a riot. instead of giving the crowd what they wanted, he just stood up and bowed, incensing the crowd even further. ashton then put his noise-cancelling headphones on, and while it didn’t work entirely, it did pretty well. when calum entered, he gave a tentative look at ashton, who stared right through him. he started to walk over, but luke and a freshman named liam both intercepted him and got into a pretty heated altercation. calum went back to the bench.

as the game progressed, he noticed that calum was not doing well at all. his shot selection was awful, and his passes were not crisp. he kept looking over at ashton and frowning, and liam was lighting him up. luke was also doing amazing, scoring on everyone as michael kept pace.

at the end, though, luke couldn’t keep up with duke, and north carolina lost by ten. calum tried one more time to talk to ashton after the game, and ashton just stared at him before liam came back up and helped him into the tunnel.

while ashton had a good time in defeat, he wasn’t eager to do anything but go home. once he got home, he lounged on the couch with luke cuddling against him, watching american ninja warrior, both of them freshly showered. “you know, luke, you had a really good game today. i don’t care if we lost. i’m proud.”

luke smiled sweetly, pecking ashton on the nose before the both of them froze at a knock on their door. luke moved first, muttering an “i got it.” when luke opened the door, calum was standing there, looking particularly forlorn. “please, please, please let me talk to ashton. please. if you don’t let me do anything else in your life, let me see him.”

luke pretended to ponder it for a moment, before exploding on the smaller boy. not many people dwarfed calum; and luke was using his height to his advantage.

“why do you deserve to see him, huh? haven’t you put him through enough? what, do you want to ask him if he has any nudes you can leak? want to twist the knife any more? do you have a camera crew with you, stupid bitch? are we being punked?”

suddenly, ashton jumped up and dragged calum into the house, pressing him against the wall and putting his forearm against his throat in a burst of emotion. “you want to do me a favor? get out of my life. quit looking at me. quit coming to my door. you’re lucky i have the friends that i do, or i would’ve killed myself. and it would’ve been your fault.”

calum whimpered, and weakly said “is there anything i can do to-“

ashton, like always, quickly jumped on calum’s words with malice. “yeah. come out to the world. tell everyone how i sucked your dick and how you smeared your blood on me at the gas station. tell everyone about the instagram voice call where i made you come just by telling you how pathetic you are, which, by the way, is still true.”

calum swallowed, adam’s apple struggling to bob against ashton’s forearm. “if you beat us in the acc championship game, i’ll let you out me. but you have to forgive me for this bet to work.”

“no i don’t. i’m in no position to forgive you.”

“fine. does the bet sound good?”

“sounds like you’re desperate for me.”

“maybe i am.”

“that’s what i like. i like desperation.”

“yeah?” calum sounded lightheaded.

luke cleared his throat, and ashton turned to look at his completely overwhelmed friend. “if you’re going to- going to fuck, i can totally go upstairs, but-“

“calum was just leaving. right, calum?”

“yeah. remember our bet.”

and with that, calum left, shutting the door as he ran back to his car.

luke whistled. “i have never seen someone become someone’s bitch so fast. he’s so whipped.”

ashton frowned. “he’s beneath me.”

luke chuckled. “he might be soon."


	8. march 9, 2018

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> something small. keep reading there's more including some rapid character progression lol

calum left ashton’s house knowing full well the consequences of the deal he just made should he lose. so, instead of going home, he went to the gym.

that’s where he stayed for most of the six days between the two games. he knew that there was going to be a lot of pressure on his shoulders, seeing as they’d won the last championship game, they’d lost the last matchup between the team, and personally, because calum’s career was at stake.

selfishly, he’d seen what he’d done to ashton. the boy was out from the game he loved, dropping his stats and stock in the draft- all because of him. yeah, it was vapid- extremely so- of him to do that to ashton, especially on live television, and he had no excuse for it. he’d paid for it, though. at least four major companies pulled out from potential endorsement deals once he turned professional, and through his thinking, he realized he was probably just as attracted to ashton as ashton was to him. he wasn’t excusing himself, but he certainly learned lots of things.

ashton, however, viewed this game as something completely different: a new chapter. the press was _salivating_ at the prospect of ashton finally returning to the court, and coach williams hadn’t even released an update on his status. ashton, however, knew he was good to go two days before. he was still down ten pounds, and had less muscle mass, but all that meant is that he’d probably just have to avoid getting physical in the post.

as the press filed into the gameday press room, ashton was sat squarely in the middle. the first question, however, was for coach williams.

“hello, coach. i know you listed ashton as a game time decision- is it game time yet?”

everyone in the room laughed, and coach just replied “he’ll be on the court today. how much is up to him.”

the room suddenly filled with energy from the answer; reporters buzzing, cameras clicking, ashton smiling widely. this game- his life- was finally back in his hands. after answering the next few softballs, a reporter decided to amp up the tension.

“ashton, calum is going to be guarding you today, as he has every other time you’ve faced each other. how are you going to deal with having to defend against the man who outed you on national television?”

ashton sat up straighter, as if his posture would answer the question for him.

“truthfully, i don’t know. the ideal answer is that i’ll treat him like any other defender who tries to guard me, but that’s not the answer i can give you. what happened just a month ago still weighs on me heavily- everyone knows that. it came from his mouth. i might foul out-“ laughs came from the crowd, and even from some of the teammates. “-but as long as i get some minutes and help my teammates win this and the national championship, i’ll be okay.”

hours later, the introductions boomed over the speakers. ashton stood, shaking, in the tunnel while his teammates ran out one by one. instantly, the butterflies in his stomach melted as he heard _“and making his return to college basketball, shooting guard, number 7, ashton irwin!”_

as he ran out of the tunnel, the camera flashes and cheers shocked him. he was expecting a somewhat split welcome, but it seemed like everyone was just excited to see him play. during the pregame warmups, he had michael clifford come up to him and ask him if he’d sorted out his mind yet, and all ashton could do was say “have fun not going to the sweet sixteen!” in his best fake happy voice. michael left shortly after.

as soon as north carolina won the tip, his teammates tested ashton by immediately passing the ball. after some passing between him and luke, he received the ball once again, crossed up calum (who promptly became tangled up in his limbs and fell over), and hit a picture perfect three-point jumpshot, bank off the backboard and everything.

from there, things only escalated. the two teams traded the lead, each team never leading by more than six, and with only a minute left, calum coughed up the ball and ashton capitalized on it, sinking another three-pointer. calum’s cheeks grew red; the crowd was getting louder, the game was slipping out of their hands, ashton was embarrassing him. he knew that tonight, his career was over. as calum looked at the scoreboard, he noticed that he was in danger of fouling out, which incensed him even more.

as calum inbounded the ball and took it up the court, ashton was all over him from the moment he passed mid-court. he was smiling, smirking- he knew what was going to happen. calum immediately passed the ball to michael, who almost received it before luke jumped in front of it and stole it. calum’s eyes almost bulged out of his head, and ashton winked as he passed him. so, calum did the only thing he could think of:

he ran up behind ashton, who was signaling for the ball while nobody was in front of him, and put all of his force into a shove to ashton’s back. ashton’s neck snapped back, and he fell to the ground, clearly shaken. immediately, the crowd gasped, the referee whistled him for his final foul, and he just stared tearfully (when did those get there?) at ashton as he turned over to glance at the tan boy. he walked backwards to his bench, not breaking eye contact with ashton the whole time. once he got to the bench, he just put a towel over his head for the remainder of the game. by the buzzer, it was clear to calum that they’d lost by five, and he’d lost his biggest secret.

he took the towel off of his head, and slowly made his way to the tunnel. he looked up at the big overhead screen, seeing ashton making his interview. instantly, he started walking a little faster, knowing he’d need to run very soon.

ashton went to answer an indiscriminate question from the reporter, but instead, he just blew a kiss at the camera.

calum stared, stunned, at the screen. his teammates looked him, confused, but all he could do was close his lips tight and excuse himself “to the bathroom.” he intercepted ashton on the opposite side and pulled him into a small side bathroom, where ashton had the nerve to say “we gotta stop meeting like this” before calum silenced him with a kiss.

calum broke away from him, lips shiny, face soft. he grabbed ashton’s hands, kissed them both, and said only “my hero.”


	9. the summer of 2019

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> yeahhhh sorry bout this one lowkey

calum knew that he had, by the grace of god, or maybe ashton, received the most luck in the history of the world. that much was clear from the second he left the bathroom. it was made even clearer when ashton had asked for his number the following night.

however, before they could make any plans, they had the national tournament to worry about. this time, they were both two seeds, on opposite sides of the bracket.

north carolina lost in the second round, a painful deja vu for ashton, who watched duke get to the elite eight before falling to kansas. ashton, contrary to pretty much all of his team, was actually at the game cheering on someone _very_ specific.

after the game, ashton and calum had taken an uber back to the duke team’s hotel, where calum bought an extra room with a single bed. as they wandered around the fancy hotel, they decided to visit the bar, where the two men were bombarded with questions and autographs from fans. maybe this wasn’t a great idea, but it sure as hell beat constantly being pissed that the other existed. so, they answered every question with “it’s a friendship built on respect” which, to be fair, was bullshit, but it’s a lot better than “we’re probably going to fuck.”

after they grew sufficiently drunk, they took the elevator up to what seemed like the very top floor. luckily, they were alone after the thirteenth floor, and that’s when calum revealed his plans. “ _ashy_... i need you now, please, i need...” he trailed off, pawing at ashton’s shirt collar, trying to kiss his neck. ashton, however, saw right through him.

ashton took a fist of calum’s hair, leaning his head back, before biting calum right on the side of his neck. calum squealed, knowing he broke the skin. ashton licked around the wound, and when his vision stopped blurring, he saw ashton sticking his tongue out to him with _his own_ blood on it. he shivered with arousal.

“please- make sure it’s not still bleeding, i don’t want-“

“yes, you do. you want everyone to see it, and you want everyone to know i did it.”

calum just whined, already reduced to putty at ashton’s hands. as soon as the elevator opened, calum basically ran to their room, unlocked the door, and threw himself on the bed in his sweatpants with his ass in the air. ashton took his time, changing clothes, fixing his hair, even opening the blinds (“just so everyone high enough can see you”) before finally paying attention to the boy spread out on the bed before him. slowly, he undid his pants, keeping the belt handy away from calum’s view. he slowly pulled the sweatpants down calum’s long legs, before kneeling down and kissing the tan boy’s ass gently, making calum mewl and writhe. suddenly, ashton grabbed the belt and lightly hit calum’s ass with it. calum moaned and arched his back, so ashton had the affirmative. and as soon as he started talking, calum knew it would be over quick.

through the thick _thwack_ sound of the belt, ashton began to talk, long, fluid sentences that made calum’s skin burn. “of course, this is where you’d be when i get in the room, so eager to get fucked. maybe i should put this on twitter; you want that? let everyone in the world know that just being in my presence makes you get on your hands and knees, begging me to fuck you.”

the sting of the belt began to get painful, and ashton could see calum’s skin was raw, so he dropped the belt and parted calum’s (now pink tinted) asscheeks to put a hesitant kiss right in between them. calum moaned loudly, before pushing his ass back into ashton’s face. ashton quickly opened his mouth, flattening his tongue over calum’s hole and pointing it to try and penetrate. calum had a handful of ashton’s hair, pushing ashton further into his ass, moaning, dripping precome from his erection.

ashton soon replaced his tongue with a finger, not before sucking enthusiastically on them. calum was eager to be opened, and soon, he got another finger in, scissoring the tight hole for his dick. ashton was encountering some resistance, and calum was less hard now, so ashton asked if calum had any lube.

calum shook his head.

ashton didn’t know a lot about having sex with a man, just from what he’d read and seen, but he knew you needed lubricant. ashton pulled his fingers out of calum’s ass, much to calum’s chagrin. ashton softly said “we can’t fuck.” calum grunted and turned around to face ashton with an irritated look on his face. “can’t you just use like, soap or something? what about vaseline? i have vaseline.” ashton shook his head. “we don’t have lube. we need lube.”

calum bristled. “so why are you here then?” ashton, taken aback by the change in attitude, answered “we have a friendship built on respect.” calum laughed. “we aren’t friends, ashton. if you’re not going to fuck me, i want to sleep.”

ashton got up, putting his jeans back on, thoroughly unamused. “so i can’t sleep in bed with you? it’s a queen bed, calum.”

calum put his briefs on. “i like sleeping alone.”

ashton began to get angry, huffing and trying to calm down, and calum just pretended like he wasn’t there, which angered him more.

“so i just saved your secret for nothing? for a few fingers in your ass? for your lack of lube?”

calum shot up, replying with “because you’re a good person, ashton! i’m not! don’t you fucking get that? i tried to end your career so i could get ahead of you, because this is my life as much as it’s yours, and it’s so fucking hard to constantly be compared to and talked about with you in the same sentence! it’s always ashton irwin, ashton irwin, and never calum hood!”

ashton could only stare at calum, now crying tears of anger. “i respect you, calum. i do. but you have some deep-rooted jealousy issues you need to work on. if you want people to talk about you, play better than me. that’s all you have to do. i’m leaving.”

calum watched him go, and that was the last they talked all summer. calum did his usual thing- going into hiding and maybe tweeting once; ashton went on vacation in between spending his summer at the university practicing for his senior year.

unlike previous years, ashton wasn’t looking forward to their first meeting. conversely, though, unlike previous years, he now knew what kind of person calum hood was.


	10. february 20, 2019

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> senior year :)

ashton generally liked the concept of time. he felt that time had been kind to him, maturing him, strengthening him, allowing him to feel young slowly and feel like an adult in a rush. the one thing he didn’t like about time, though, is that days passing is inevitable. you go to sleep every night, and wake up, and it’s another day closer to whatever you’re looking forward (or not forward) to.

for ashton, time ran him straight to february 20, 2019; his senior year, and the first meeting of the year between duke and north carolina. he wasn’t upset to be playing basketball- that was his career; his life. he was pretty upset to be seeing calum, though. he’d drafted (and subsequently deleted) so many potential texts to the boy that he lost track- and not a single one of them was sent. instead of spending the summer with calum, playing horse, having eventful shootarounds, and just being close, they remained on seemingly other sides of the world, although they were only ten minutes away.

when he spotted calum coming out of the tunnel, he watched him walk all the way out, searching desperately for anything- a side glance, and maybe, by the grace of god, a wave or something. it never came.

and yeah, ashton knew he was being kind of dumb, and definitely naive, but he didn’t really care. he was the number one recruit coming out of high school- he could be dumb every so often.

he went to coach williams, trying not to interrupt this conversation, but standing next to the man, indicating his need to talk. when coach turned around, ashton spoke softly. “coach, i’m not feeling 100%. is there a way you could switch hemmings’ and i’s assignments? i promise you that i’ll lock down clifford, but if i guard hood it’ll be the opposite.”

coach williams thought about it, then nodded in approval. “sure. but i hope you mean what you said.”

as the game started, luke was doing alright guarding calum, and ashton was, as he’d promised, locking michael down, and having some fun with it. at the jump ball, when duke earned first possession. the surprise in michael’s eyes at ashton running towards him was almost comical. michael soon recovered, however, snarling “your boyfriend’s over there, queer.” before passing the ball to calum. it probably would’ve been cooler had calum actually made the shot, not familiar with luke’s defense.

a few minutes later, as ashton was guarding michael, he saw calum initiate a familiar move- one he’d fallen victim to many times. calum stepped back as if to hit a jumpshot, before suddenly driving to the rim. ashton tried to make his way to the basket, but michael telegraphed it and ashton ran full into michael’s shoulder, causing ashton to lose his balance and run into the legs of a jumping calum. calum let go of the ball and clattered to the ground, his head hitting the wooden court with a sickening _thud._

ashton, who was mostly fine, untangled himself from calum, who hadn’t moved. he knew it was painful, and he knew calum had landed awkward. ashton kneeled over calum, and watched as calum blinked rapidly, eyes rolling around as if he’d just gotten off a roller coaster. ashton extended his hand to the tan boy, who grabbed it, using all of his strength to sit up, and then stand up. muttering a “thanks, ash,” he started to walk to the baseline to inbound, but before he could get there, fell back down to his knees. as ashton began to walk back over to him, calum threw up all over the floor. ashton backed away and helplessly looked at the duke bench for assistance.

trainers _finally_ ran over to calum, helping him up, as the stadium attendees cleaned up the vomit. ashton watched as calum, head down, made his way through the tunnel. ashton checked the scoreboard for the time. twelve minutes remaining in the first half. this meant that duke was probably toast.

as play was whistled to continue, calum’s ears rang. his equilibrium was severely impacted, and he could barely put one foot in front of the other. quietly, he said “grade three concussion.” the trainer grimly nodded at calum, which he barely saw. as time passed, he laid down in the trainer’s room, the room spun, his heart pounded out of his chest, and his head was hurting more intense than it ever had before. he mustered up enough energy to say “i need to go to the hospital. i need an ambulance.”

as the buzzer signalized the end of the half, ashton went back to the locker room. before he could get through the doorway, he heard what he thought was an ambulance, and his throat immediately dried. he said “be right back” to no one in particular and set off in the direction of the wailing sound.

as he approached the ambulance, it was driving away. ashton quickly ran up to one of the duke trainers, and simply asked “calum?” the trainer shrugged. “grade three concussion. repeated vomiting. it’s what happens when you have to break your fall with your face.” ashton was not a fan of the tone this man was using, to say the least. “are you insinuating that this is my fault?” the trainer rolled his eyes. “grow up. nobody said that.” ashton dismissed the man and walked back to his locker room, slipping in quietly as coach williams gave a rundown of things they needed to improve.

within an hour, the game was over. without calum, duke couldn’t do anything to combat ashton and luke, and they were left to walk out with their heads hanging as the fans stood silent, concerned. ashton let coach williams know he was leaving, and quickly ran to his car, googling “calum hood injury update” to try and see which hospital he was at. when he read that calum was at duke university hospital, he started on the seven-minute drive from cameron indoor stadium.

when he arrived, his mind was racing with possibilities about calum’s condition. he walked in, seeing a girl- keara, she always commented on calum’s instagram photos- at the front desk. as he rushed forward, she smiled and waved at him, but looked a little apprehensive as to why he was here at 10:30 pm. “can i see calum hood?” she hesitated, before slowly saying “visiting hours ended at 10 pm.”

ashton sighed and ran his hands through his hair, turning away for a moment. as he was thinking, he heard keara softly say “you like him, don’t you?” ashton turned to her, eyes as big as saucers, and started to deny her accusation, but as he opened his mouth to speak, nothing came out. he tried again after he calmed himself down.

“probably, yeah.”

she leaned back in her chair, deep in thought. “i’m really confused as to why you would, seeing all the shit he’s done to you, who he is, and where he goes to school. but, for all my questions, i know you care about him. he’s in room 137. i’ll buzz you in.”

ashton thanked her and set off to find calum. he found the room shortly after, avoiding any looks from nurses, and quietly went in. calum was obviously underneath some sort of drug to sedate him, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t recognize ashton.

“ash, hey.” he said, groggy. ashton brought a chair up to the side of his bed and grabbed his hand. kissed it. held it close to his body. calum had this look on his face that ashton hadn’t seen before, and he couldn’t read it, which bothered him. ashton took a look at his surroundings, which earned him a clearing of calum’s throat.

“i didn’t mean to not talk to you all summer. you’re right. about the jealousy, i mean. i took the summer to work on myself, and it’s clear to me now that you were the better player in high school. i’m injury prone, weak in the post, and i foul out easily. you’re so much better than me, it’s not fair for people to even-“

ashton cut him off. “calum, you and i both know half of that is not true. i meant what i said about the jealousy, but i never said anything about you being awful. you’ve done so much for your team, and at times, you’ve made my team’s life a living hell.”

“this isn’t about the team. this is about us. i couldn’t give less of a fuck about basketball right now.” ashton’s spine went rigid; they were going to have this conversation, weren’t they? “you’re the better person. we both know. i don’t know if i’ve ever properly thanked you for what you did last year during your post-game interview, but if i haven’t, thank you. so much. it takes a really good person to know they have the opportunity to get even, and not.”

“calum, it wasn’t about getting even. i just want you to be happy.”

“i know, ashton. and i know it doesn’t seem like it, but i just want you to be happy as well.”

“i know you do. you go about it in weird ways, but i understand. i’m sorry for making you hit your head. i’m sorry for putting you in here.”

“it wasn’t you, bud. it was michael. everyone knows that. you don’t lose your balance unless you’re pushed, dork.”

moments passed, and the boys were comfortably relaxing in silence. calum gripped ashton’s hand, and softly said “i like you a lot. first, i respected your game, and then i wanted you to do me, and now it turns out i can tolerate your personality.”

ashton bristled again. this was another conversation he did not want to have right now. it would not make him happier or ease his guilt, and he knew calum was probably letting the sedative speak for him.

“i like you too, calum. you have some growing up to do, but i think you’re doing it.” ashton leaned close to calum, who squirmed like he wanted to move, but decided to just lay down. their languid breathing intermingled as they locked eyes, and ashton closed the remaining space to kiss calum. it was gentle, innocent, unlike the others they had shared before. as ashton pulled away, calum released his hand. “go home, ashton. i’ll be here when you wake up.”

ashton took his cue, whispered his goodbyes, and went to his car. this visit didn’t sate any of his thoughts.


	11. march 9, 2019

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> here's a big one full of me trying to establish complex relationships between people lol

ashton returned the following day to see calum. the doctors deemed him stable enough to go home, so ashton drove him home and they exchanged a kiss before calum went inside. per the hospital, he had to rest for a week, with thirty minutes of light exercising allowed. his doctor said that if he didn’t have any symptoms by march 2 he could start to work out normally again.

thankfully, he made it to march 2 without any incidents, and returned to practice. there was a week left before the second meeting between duke and north carolina, and coach k had let the media know that calum would be playing, but in a reduced capacity.

calum felt just alright on the day of march 9, which probably meant that he’d score about thirty. as the bus rolled up to the dean smith center, and the crowd of powder blue booed, calum felt the familiar adrenaline of competition start to make itself known. coach k let him know that they were going to start him, but he’d probably only play fifteen minutes as opposed to his usual thirty-five.

as the image of calum and ashton shaking hands was shown on the big screen, ashton looked over to see michael and luke having some words. it did not look pleasant. he’d been told by luke that michael had been in his ear during the majority of the last game, and that he was going to try and be the bigger man during this game. that plan, seemingly, was thrown out the window. ashton whispered “michael and luke” and dragged calum over to the boys to discourage the fighting.

michael spotted them and laughed out a “look, luke, it’s your prince coming to save you!” ashton calmly shook his head at michael. “suck a dick, clifford.” michael replied with “isn’t that your job? right, calum?”

calum’s eyes grew wide before looking at michael and saying “right” so softly that ashton thought maybe calum was hoping he wouldn’t hear him. but he did. “oh, alright, calum. that’s how it’ll be. the royal couple’s gonna go prepare to beat the shit out of both of you.”

as they walked away, luke grumbled about how michael made him mad. ashton thought he heard the word “horny,” but he let it slide.

ashton came out of the gate putting points up everywhere, still moderately upset from calum not taking his side. and if calum had any doubt to why ashton wasn’t going easy on him, it was erased when ashton shot a three-pointer right in his face and followed it with “you should’ve taken my side.” yeah, it was petty, but ashton never claimed not to be.

late in the first half, ashton drove to the basket only to be stripped of the ball by calum, who couldn’t get a hold of the ball either. as ashton slowly got up, he realized that there was a skirmish for the ball, and out of that struggle, luke and michael were throwing punches at each other. like, _real_ , heavy blows. luke had hit michael right in the face as michael pulled on luke’s hair to get him away from the ball, and then from there, they were boxing.

ashton yelled “calum, stay out of it!” before getting into the middle of it to separate them, earning him a punch from michael, who’s jersey was torn. ashton kicked michael in the side of his kneecap, causing him to fall over in pain. from there, he was able to take control of the situation, and luke and michael both sported open cuts and bleeding from the fight. the dean smith center had exploded once luke threw the first punches and became even louder when ashton kicked michael in the side of the leg. now, they were finally settling down. ashton knew that the media wouldn’t, though.

the referee ejected luke and michael, and assessed a flagrant 1 foul to ashton, which meant that ashton needed to be really careful.

luckily for everyone, the game ended with no further issues, and with calum benched for a while, ashton dominated. for the first time ever, the ashton irwin-led north carolina team swept duke in the regular season, which made ashton‘s confidence soar. he went over to calum, shook his hand again, and calum leaned in and whispered “i’m proud.” ashton blushed and let go of his hand, heading back to his locker room.

when he got there, he was met with the sight of michael and luke fighting, _again_ , this time in the tar heels locker room. ashton went over to the scene and shouted “enough!” which froze everyone in the room, as ashton wasn’t really one to yell. “michael, get the fuck out of here!” michael stood up, sneered, and hurried out of the locker room. luke stood up, sheepishly looked at ashton, and said “sorry, ash, i-“

ashton cut him off. “luke, what the hell? i get he frustrates you, but that does not give you the right to fight him on sight like we’re in high school! this is going to affect your draft stock so bad!”

luke sadly looked at his feet. “i know, ash, he just knows how to get under my skin. i’m sorry.”

ashton gave him a look of pity, clapping a hand on his shoulder. “it’s fine. it’s fun to watch. just don’t make a habit out of it, yeah? you scare me, hemmings. this is basketball, not boxing. you’re not mike tyson. i hope you know that.”

as the crowd dispersed, ashton and luke went out to ashton’s car, and luke, like he did whenever ashton was right, kissed ashton on the cheek. ashton smiled at him, and offered “how about we go home, make some smoothies, and watch grey’s anatomy?” luke nodded in approval.

suddenly, he heard more yelling, and he saw michael heading towards his car yet again. “jesus fucking christ. luke, stay in the car or i’m beating your ass myself. this will only take a minute.”

ashton exited the car as michael got closer, and michael greeted him with “move it, princess.”

ashton set his jaw and shook his head. “you’re not going to touch luke anymore. your draft stock depends on it.”

michael angrily squinted his eyes. “ashton, we both know i’m not getting drafted. now fucking move.” ashton once again shook his head and said “if you want to fight so bad, fight me.”

michael pondered it shortly before taking a swing at ashton. ashton caught his fist and kneed him in the gut, causing michael to fall over. “i don’t think your desire to fight is bad enough to fight me.”

michael got up, flipped ashton off, and ran away. ashton got back into the car and tried to ignore the awestruck stare of luke. “what? i just defended myself.”

as they started the drive back to their apartment, he felt luke getting fidgety in his seat.

“do you love calum?”

ashton almost veered the car off the road as he gripped the wheel tightly, stunned by the unexpected subject change. “no, luke. i’ll admit that i respect him, but that doesn’t mean that i love him. we talk sometimes and we play basketball against each other, luke. i- okay. i like his body. he’s hot. you could admit that too, though.”

luke hummed in response. “i heard you yelling for him to stay back earlier. you care for him. you may not love him, but you definitely care for him.”

ashton whispered “i care for him.” first to luke, and then to himself.

as the boys sat idle in the car, luke started to cry a bit. ashton looked over, worriedly, before luke waved him away. “it’s- sorry, i’m fine, i just- ugh, ashton, i’m in love with michael.”

ashton sat up a bit straighter. “what? wait, luke- what?”

luke continued to stare at his lap. “we’ve been talking, kinda, and i slept at his house a few times freshman year, and then one day he had a friend come over and find me in his bed, and he kicked me out and told his friend he was drunk and i’d taken advantage of him. he really loves me, i’m sure of it. he’s just... straight. he’s so wrapped up in this masculine basketball world that he can’t come down from the clouds and stop hurting me. i went to his house a week ago to give him some shirts he’d left a while ago, and some girl answered the door, recognized me, and immediately shut the door. when michael saw me today, he tried to intimidate me into not coming back, but i need to do it for me.”

ashton realized that that was kind of a proposition. “do we- should we give it some time? i just beat his ass in the parking lot, luke. i don’t know if this is the best time.”

luke rubbed at his eyes, opening the car door. “no, it doesn’t have to be now, but maybe saturday or something?”

“yeah, that sounds fine, bud.”

the week progressed slowly for the both of them, with both teams progressing through the conference tournament, setting up an inevitable duke/unc conference tournament final. once they made it to saturday, a rare day that neither duke or north carolina had a game, luke was basically shaking with anticipation on the couch.

ashton came downstairs, freshly showered. “should we go, luke?”

luke got up, wiping his hands on his jeans. “probably, yeah.”

ashton went over to luke and gave him a hug. “you look like you’re gonna be sick, dude. take some breaths, yeah?”

luke sucked air in slowly, burying his face in ashton’s chest. from in his chest, luke let out a tiny, muffled “i’m so scared of him.”

ashton rubbed luke’s shoulder. “no reason to be. you’re braver than him- he’s the one that would be losing if he didn’t get you in this scenario. remember that.”

as they walked outside, ashton immediately ran into calum. “what the fuck?”

“where are you going?”

“why are you here?”

“to hang out.”

ashton gave calum a confused look. “we... didn’t schedule anything for today?”

calum laughed. “oh, so now i have to have an appointment to hang out with you?”

“well, luke and i are-“ luke elbowed him and shook his head, eyes wide. “kinda busy.”

calum remained undeterred, only offering “i’ll go with you!”

luke piped up, saying “okay, but only if you don’t ask where we’re going.”

calum squinted at luke. “uh, sure.”

as they all set off to michael’s, calum began to piece together information based off of ashton’s GPS spitting out directions. he kept quiet but wasn’t sure if what he thought was happening would end well. when they pulled up to michael’s house, he sat back in his seat, almost afraid to look. timidly, he said “i don’t know if this is a good idea.”

luke looked back at calum. “calum, ashton likes you, so i won’t get on your case, but i didn’t ask for your opinion, so shut up.” calum let out a “fair” in response. as luke opened the door, ashton could only turn around and hold his hand out for calum to grab. when calum took it, ashton squeezed it, muttering “be back soon. the car is on.”

luke walked up to the familiar house, knocking on the door. michael opened it, and immediately went to close it. ashton, sensing it, put his foot in the door, absorbing the impact; but the door was still open. “michael, for once in your life, do not be a pussy and do not make me beat your ass.” michael swung the door open, immediately getting into luke’s face and saying “so you told him? is that even your business to tell?”

ashton got in between them because 1) that didn’t make sense, and 2) luke was rapidly and visibly losing his confidence he’d spent five days building up. “you just reacted in the two worst ways possible. i know you don’t do this much, but shut up and listen.”

michael stepped outside. “no, you listen to me, fairy. i’m not gay. i will never be like you or your friend. i want to be a professional, even if i’m not going to be drafted; hell, especially if i’m not going to be drafted- that’s career suicide. not that you two would know, because you’re on billboards and plastered all over ESPN. what i did freshman year was-“

luke cut him off by putting a hand over his mouth, looking absolutely pissed. “don’t you dare say what we did was a mistake! i don’t want to fucking hear it! you and i _both_ know that what we did, multiple times, might i add, was some of the best decisions we’ve both made in our lives! michael, don’t you get it? i don’t keep coming back to be humiliated by you; i’m in love with you!”

michael frantically signaled at luke, before quietly saying “keep your voice down, dude.”

luke just stared at michael. “keep my voice down.” it might’ve started as a question, but by the end of it, it was a statement. “okay, ashton, this was a waste of my time. i spend years thinking about this moment and this is what i get for doing it. i’m getting in the car.”

luke walked away, trying hard to suppress his sniffles to no avail. michael looked... slightly sad, which was more than michael usually gave, but ashton wasn’t done.

“he wasn’t kidding, michael. he’s been thinking about this for years.”

“i know he has. i’ve been dreading this day for just as long. i don’t want to hurt him, it’s just not the same situation. you guys have infinite support, endorsement deals, talent. i don’t. i appreciate what you guys are trying to do by changing the culture of the sport, but it’ll take a lot more than two teenagers to do it.”

michael gave ashton another look before going inside. ashton, in a moment of rage, kicked michael’s door and shouted “you’re a coward!” before going back to his car.

as he got into his car, he noticed the silence, heavy and prevalent. luke wasn’t crying; he was just staring out the window. calum looked scared, vaguely. ashton put his hand on luke’s thigh, causing the lanky boy to flinch. “let’s go home, yeah?”

the car ride back was, understandably, silent. ashton was sure that luke was trying to glue pieces of his heart back together, which absolutely astonished ashton, because he hadn’t even known about luke’s love for that asshole until four days ago. he got michael’s motive, and the boy was right. basketball was a dangerous environment to come out in. hell, all sports were. however, nothing would be changed in this world if everyone stayed under the radar, scared.

when the boys arrived back home, luke announced his impending nap before he got out of the car. “do you want us with you?”

“no thanks, ashton. i appreciate it- i just need to be alone right now.” his voice wasn’t sad, really. perturbed, maybe. shocked.

as luke went upstairs, calum and ashton settled on the couch, curled up, ashton with a hand playing in calum’s hair. calum and ashton sat in silence on their phones, before calum quietly stated “i tried to tell you.”

ashton sighed. “yeah, you did.”

calum continued. “he talks about luke all the time when he’s drunk with me. he says he’s pretty and that he’ll never forget the first time they had sex. he said he wishes all the time that he had the balls to tell luke it could be different. michael’s not like us, though. he doesn’t believe in himself like we do. he’d rather sit back and accept norms.”

ashton (rather unhelpfully) added “to luke’s detriment,” which calum countered with “to _everyone’s_ detriment. to our detriment. to every closeted athlete’s detriment.” and then, after a moment’s pause, “at the end of the day, luke will be happy with the choices he made in life, and michael won’t.”

ashton silently agreed. he hoped calum would be happy with the choices he made at the end of the day as well.


	12. march 15, 2019

ashton wasn’t sure if luke was ready to play duke in the conference championship just two days later, but when luke came down the stairs in his workout gear the day before, he looked pretty unaffected. ashton recognized that it was probably a farce, but it was a damn good one. maybe luke would play better spurned and dejected.

as they boarded that bus to brooklyn yesterday, luke wasn’t in much of a talking mood. this didn’t change once they’d arrived in brooklyn, or when they’d settled in their room. ashton poked and prodded at luke to go to the pool with him, and when he finally relented, ashton cheered and whooped as he put his swim trunks on.

when they got down to the pool, they saw liam down there too. “hey, liam!” followed in stereo. as luke and liam splashed around, ashton went to the hot tub. he didn’t want to exert a lot of energy, because as much as he cared about calum, he had to beat him tomorrow. this was probably the final time that he would have the opportunity to show NBA scouts that he was still better than calum, and he intended to do just that.

what ashton didn’t know, however, is that calum wasn’t in the hot tub. he was in the gym. he knew how much ashton meant to him- that was unarguable. he also knew, however, that many people still saw him as second best. this game was the final chance he had to prove everyone wrong. could he do that without hurting his relationship (whatever it was) with ashton?

as the sunrise peeked through the buildings in brooklyn, both teams were already up and active on separate courts. the media presence was massive- this game was being billed as a few things: “the final battle,” “the biggest game in history,” and ashton’s favorite: “the end of an era.”

the game itself lived up to the hype from the opening jump ball. both teams remained neck and neck, never letting one jump out to a significant lead, and the crowd’s nervous energy was only increasing as the minutes ticked on. at halftime, it was tied at thirty-eight. both locker rooms were energized, restless, and nervous.

the game got really interesting with about ten minutes left. as luke drove to the basket, michael kicked him (“accidentally”) in the crotch, sending luke to the floor. as the referees reviewed it, ashton felt rage rise in his throat as he stomped over to michael, who just smiled at him. ashton was about to get ejected and michael was going to earn duke the game. as he ran over and started to swing, calum intercepted him and held him back. ashton, surprised, said “you know what he’s trying to do.” in a low voice. calum responded with “then why are you feeding into it, ash?”

michael shoved calum, shouting “what the hell, calum?” and before ashton could really lay into him, the referees announced that he’d been ejected. michael rolled his eyes and spat in ashton’s face, a last-ditch effort to take ashton out of the game. this time, ashton just laughed and waved goodbye, leaving the blue haired boy to storm off as ashton and calum ran to luke, who was hunched over on the ground in pain.

all luke could say was “hurts.” and ashton assumed he meant physically and emotionally, because the man who he’d bared his heart to just kicked him in the crotch.

luke walked it off as the referees sorted out the teams, and michael’s replacement was a freshman named ryan beatty who didn’t really have that much experience, so coach williams kept the assignment to give luke a break.

with thirty seconds to go, north carolina was down by two, so coach williams called a timeout to instruct the players to start intentionally fouling if they couldn’t score on the next possession. when luke missed a three pointer, he immediately fouled ryan, who only hit one of the free throws. there were about nineteen seconds left.

ashton inbounded the ball, dribbled for a few seconds, and heaved up a shot over calum, who slipped and fell on his side. it hit, and they tied things up. coach williams shouted “tangle! tangle!” which was code for “foul now.” there were about thirteen seconds left.

the clock continued to run as calum got set to inbound the ball. ashton just barely went across the half court line before dashing back to foul calum, but before he could, he slipped on the sweat that calum left from his fall and his head smacked against calum’s forehead. as he braced his fall with his hands, he heard a loud _thunk_ and a subsequent _whack_. he turned over to see calum, passed out, and immediately he felt vomit threaten to rise in his throat. he knew calum still had a bit of an issue with that concussion, but he had no clue that what just happened could happen. calum didn’t get up, even when roused, so they had to load him on a stretcher and take him out as the crowd stared at the scene in silence. there were nine seconds left.

duke’s coach picked jack white, also a senior, to shoot the free throws. he made one of them, and duke was up one again. the crowd was still silent. ashton inbounded the ball, clearly not into the game, and passed to luke, who dribbled the ball a few times and passed back to ashton, who attempted a jumpshot. the crowd was still silent.

the buzzer sounded. the jumpshot hit the backboard too high, bounced off the rim, and fell harmlessly to the ground. duke had won.

the crowd was still silent.

all ashton wanted to do was get out of that arena. he sat in the locker room, avoided media interviews, and let his guilt him alive. the sound of calum’s head hitting the ground kept playing over and over in his head, and he was mad.

mad at calum for not telling him that his concussion still lingered, mad at the floor attendants for not mopping the sweat up, mad at himself for giving the foul at a moment’s notice when they still had a timeout, mad at the world for giving him this outcome at a time when he desperately needed a good showing.

as he boarded the bus for the drive back, he put his earbuds in and started on his “bus ride” playlist, holding luke’s hand to satiate the taller boy’s need for attention.

that’s the thing about ashton- he was having an awful time currently, but he still wanted to tend to the needs of others. any other player in the world would’ve brushed it off as an accident. he was not that kind of person, though, and everything negative he did stuck with him. so, to balance his karma, he tried to help others as much as possible.

thankfully, his brain let him fall asleep, so the bus ride went by fast. when luke shook him awake, he stretched, and checked his phone to see a text from calum.

_calum_ : i’m okay. i forgive you. it’s not your fault, and i’ll see you soon bud

ashton couldn’t reply yet, only because he had so much to say and nothing to say at once. as he drove home with luke, he realized something important.

“fuck, we lost.”

luke laughed. “uh, yeah. it’s okay, we’re pretty much guaranteed an automatic bid though. we swept them during the regular season. who knows? we might see them during the tournament.”

ashton nodded in agreement.

before he went to bed that night, he crafted a reply to calum.

_ashton_ : no, i’m really sorry. i have to say that. i’ll be waiting for your knock on my door babe.

eventually, everything returned to normal. calum came home, knocked on ashton’s door, they had sex, everything was fine. as ashton and calum departed the next day to go to their designated athletic facilities for selection sunday, luke took a photo of them in their clashing team gear with fake mean faces and fists raised, posting it to instagram with the caption “about to get selected” added on for a bonus.

it was revealed shortly after that both teams were number one seeds on opposite sides of the bracket. ashton tried to swallow the disappointment in his throat as his phone buzzed with a text.

_calum_ : they made it hard for us, but i’ll be seeing you april 8th :)

suddenly, ashton believed that they’d be seeing each other on the court really soon.


	13. april 8, 2019

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> second to last chapter, but really this is the last chapter before the epilogue :) thank you to everyone who's read and enjoyed with me! check out some of the other works on my profile if you liked this one!

at the same time that duke finished their twenty-six point win over albany, ashton was stretching on the court, getting ready to face the college of charleston. calum’s eyes stuck to the screen in horror as north carolina went into the locker rooms at halftime down by nine. he knew that some coaches really didn’t worry about some lower seeds in the first round, but he thought that coach williams would be different, if only because of his spectacled history in the sport.

but, like calum should’ve known, north carolina came rallying back, and ended up beating charleston by fifteen points.

two days later, duke and north carolina had their second-round games at the same time. butler wasn’t exactly a cakewalk for duke, but after their star fouled out with about five minutes left, calum was able to shoot at will to guarantee a victory for duke.

calum, however, couldn’t shake his nerves. he’d only been able to see the score of the north carolina game a few times, and every time he’d seen it, north carolina was losing. it wasn’t by much, but he could tell something was just _off_ about this team. maybe luke and ashton were having chemistry issues, or ashton was feeling the pressure, but there was something just not clicking.

calum would know, too, if it weren’t for ashton ignoring him. to be fair to the beautiful boy, ashton warned him; that didn’t make it hurt any less. he’d even gone to their house, only to see it empty of cars and the key under the mat gone. he’d tried calling ashton more than a few times, and the only time ashton responded to a text was after they beat charleston, when he replied to calum’s “congrats babe” with “thanks. :)”

when calum got back to the locker room, he immediately checked his phone, seeing that the game between iowa and north carolina had gone into overtime. as his teammates showered, calum sat by his locker with his eyes glued to his phone. it wasn’t often that he really got to watch and appreciate the game of ashton without being envious or mad that it was at his expense, but now that he was (pretty much) a neutral party, he realized how beautiful his game was.

the way he moved, set screens, his form when he went up for shots, the way he absorbed contact- it was all so mesmerizing to watch. so mesmerizing, in fact, that he almost didn’t realize he had a group gather behind him, watching the game on his phone.

michael huffed. “why does luke get to have all the good games with the national attention?”

calum tried to tune out the members of his team, but it was impossible to do so after ashton drove to the basket for a layup with just four tenths of a second left and was fouled. the room erupted with yells and shouts, cries of “no way!” and “fucking insane!”

all calum could say was “wow.”

two free throws later, and north carolina had won the game by just a single point. calum sighed in relief before pocketing his phone, heading to the showers. the locker room was pretty quiet now, so calum felt free to hum a little as he washed the sweat off of his body.

they were in washington, d.c. now, so he couldn’t just go to ashton’s house and see him. they were in a nice, downtown hotel until the end of the next round. then, they had three days to rest and get all the way to las vegas for the elite eight. after that, it was off to san antonio for the final four and championship game. calum knew he’d be exhausted if they made it that far, but it would be so worth it.

he heard a shower turn on next to him, startling him out of his thought process. he was pretty sure everyone had left- who was just now showering?

as he turned off the shower, he heard what he thought were sighs and sniffles. he didn’t want to intrude, but he knew that it was one of his teammates and they were probably crying, so he went to the offending stall and pulled back the curtain just a bit. michael and ryan- a freshman- were making out, and michael was fisting ryan’s dick like there was no tomorrow. calum silently shut the curtain, before the reality of the situation hit him.

“michael, whatcha doing?”

“oh! uh, nothing!”

“you sure you don’t have a guest in there?”

michael poked his head out. “what did you see?” calum shrugged. “enough.” michael groaned, before taking his lip in between his teeth and thinking. “here’s what’s going to happen. we are going to treat this like i’m drunk and you’re not going to tell anyone. we aren’t going to talk about, and you’re going to keep it inside your head, yeah?”

calum shook his head. “actually, michael, no. why are you fucking someone on our team?”

michael soured. “why are you fucking someone on our biggest rival’s team?”

calum short-circuited. this was the first time michael had ever mentioned anything to do with ashton and calum, and calum didn’t exactly announce where he was going when he went places, so was it this obvious to everyone else? michael continued. “everyone knows, calum. we knew a long time ago. it’s not any of our business, and we know that. but this? this is also not anyone’s business. so just go.”

calum promptly turned and walked away. if michael wanted to be like that, he guessed it would just have to be like that.

the next day, calum watched from his hotel room as north carolina crushed oregon as if they hadn’t just struggled against a sixteen and a nine seed, respectively. ashton had easily the most impressive game of his career, posting sixty-five points in a game that many people had north carolina losing.

naturally, focus turned to duke. syracuse, a twelve seed, was only getting better the deeper they were going in the tournament, and people didn’t like duke’s chances. their defense had been suffocating first the five seed, and then the four seed, rendering both teams incapable of scoring more than fifty.

from the jump ball, calum knew that he was going to have trouble. he started off hitting just two of the seven shots he’d attempted, and they were losing by as much as fifteen at one point. they closed the gap some, but then calum knew he was going to have to pull out some tricks he hadn’t used since high school.

first, he passed the ball between the syracuse defender’s legs to assist michael in making a close-range shot. then, he pretended to set a screen and ended up juking the man out of position to hit a three pointer. finally, all in the span of a minute, he launched the ball up at the rim, where ryan was waiting to slam it into the hoop, emphatically closing the gap, tying the game.

as syracuse called timeout, the arena was going insane. the coach led the team in applause for calum, but calum responded only with “they’ve got the ball with twelve seconds left. i want to try and flop.” the coach’s eyes bugged out of his head, and he said “what?” calum nodded over to the syracuse bench. “number four is getting frustrated. ryan can come over and double team him, i can pretend to take- or actually take- an elbow to draw the foul. michael would just have to be able to guard two of these guys, but they’re not great on offense, so he should be able to.”

coach krzyzewski just nodded, and the buzzer sounded, directing the teams back to the court. as number four inbounded, calum and ryan immediately swarmed him, and calum even poked him in his side slyly, causing the man to- as expected, throw a wicked elbow at calum, who moved out of the way enough to just have it catch him on the cheek. he still fell over as if the man had shot him, though, and the refs fouled number four, ensuring the win for duke.

when calum got back to the locker room, he had a text from ashton that said only “you sly dog. ;)”

both men didn’t do much contacting as ashton went from georgia to kansas city, and calum went from washington, d.c. to las vegas. duke was to take on florida, and north carolina would take on alabama.

alabama was a seven seed that played gritty- dirty, even. ashton knew the challenge that they would face. calum, however, had an even bigger challenge. a florida team that started the year with five straight losses, but they hadn’t lost since. if it weren’t for kansas, who lost in the last round, florida would definitely be a one seed.

duke and north carolina played on different days, ensuring that calum would be able to watch ashton’s game and vice versa.

ashton’s game was first, and alabama was playing dirty the whole game. calum was mildly irked until the final seconds, where he exploded with anger.

ashton inbounded the ball, and immediately he was triple teamed. they pushed him back, and calum could see ashton quickly approaching the half-court line. if ashton touched it, it would be a backcourt violation, north carolina would lose possession, and the game would be over. ashton continued to back up, and he passed the ball to luke at the last possible moment permissible- or so calum thought.

the refs whistled the violation on ashton, who collapsed to his knees immediately, face glued to the floor, grief evident. calum immediately stood up from his hotel room and stared fiercely at the television. “no, that’s- that’s bullshit!” immediately, coach williams called for a review. the television hard camera angle clearly showed ashton being in front of the line, and calum calmed down, thinking it would be overturned. however, when the official announced that the call stood, calum could do nothing but stand there in shock.

with eight seconds left, the game was basically over. calum sat on the bed, numb. he felt the grief and pain that was coursing through ashton, knowing how much he wanted his last game to be against calum. calum wanted it too. more than anything.

alabama got set to inbound, and their team went down the court to accelerate the play they’d called. the player at the baseline threw a pretty long pass, and to calum’s shock, ashton jumped in front of the intended target and caught it. calum watched as ashton ran as far as he could and shot the ball from the half court line, crossing his fingers. the ball banked off the backboard- and went in. north carolina had won by two. despite all the bad calls and dirty playing, north carolina had still found a way to win. now, those tears of sadness had morphed into tears of joy for both calum and ashton.

calum knew he wouldn’t be able to top the thrills of that game, but he hoped he wouldn’t have to.

as the duke/florida game started, calum felt the energy in the arena shift. this game, as opposed to the north carolina game, felt huge.

however, florida was playing with less intensity than they usually do. it was still close, but duke never lost their lead, and they won pretty easily. it disappointed calum, and he felt the disappointment in the arena. however, he couldn’t be too disappointed, because he was going to the final four. he’d finally be in the same city as ashton; he’d never recalled a week that felt so long.

as the team bus arrived to san antonio, calum was pleased to hear that each team member had a room alone. the same, apparently, could not be said for ashton, who texted calum with _“please tell me you have a single room!!”_ calum texted him a thumbs up and the room number, and he heard a knock on the door while he was unpacking.

as he opened the door, he was met with the sight of ashton, looking heavenly, freshly showered. the scent of the boy engulfed every part of calum’s mind. he pulled ashton in and shut the door before wrapping the boy in a tight hug. “i missed you.” ashton just hummed, running his hand through calum’s hair. “cuddle me.” was the eventual response, and calum picked ashton up, gently throwing him onto the bed. calum crawled over to ashton, placing his head on his chest to hear his heartbeat. they stayed there, enjoying the comfortable silence, until calum had to ruin it.

“so... alabama, huh?”

ashton groaned, a loud, pained noise. “do _not_ talk about them!”

they both laughed, calum sitting up to inch up and give ashton a kiss, ashton wrapping a leg around calum’s torso to pull him closer. it was sweet. it was scary. it was filled with something deeper than their previous ones, and they both knew it.

the next few days were filled with practice and media, as duke was going to face the undefeated texas team, and north carolina had to take on virginia.

duke’s game was first, and they found themselves down fast, due to michael and ryan’s communication problems. calum rolled his eyes, huffed angrily, and called timeout. he gathered them on the side.

“ryan, whatever michael did, he’s sorry. i know he’s a dick. trust me, i know. however, i would very much like to go to the national championship and win. i don’t know if you two care, but i do. so _please_ stop playing keep away and pass the fucking ball so we don’t get our asses beat a game away from being the best!” michael and ryan looked at their shoes, shook hands, and that was that.

everything was fixed, but calum had to play in overdrive to make up for the early gap. when the buzzer sounded for halftime, it was all tied up, thanks to calum’s twenty-seven points.

during the break, ryan and michael came up to calum, apologized, and everything was fixed. as the stadium attendant directed them back to the court, calum got ready for the second half.

from calum’s hotel room, ashton and luke watched nervously. ten minutes had elapsed. and things were still tied. ashton stood up as calum drove to the basket and took a spill, nailing the layup. a texas player grabbed the ball, unhappy with the non-call, and threw the ball at calum’s head while he laid on the ground. ashton started to pace. “what the fuck! luke, did you see that? god, he’s got the head issues, he’s gonna get hurt!”

michael immediately came to calum’s aid, getting into the offender’s face as he was whistled out of the game. calum slowly got up, shaking it off. duke’s coach called a timeout. ashton looked at this from two sides:

on one side, texas’ star player just got himself ejected.

on the other side, calum could be hurt, and although michael was good, texas was undefeated, and therefore better.

calum hit both free throws, but they weren’t as clean looking as usual. ashton remained staring at the screen, monitoring calum; it seemed as if michael was now the facilitator, and calum was being loosely guarded. michael, however, used this to his advantage, passing the ball to calum for an easy three-pointer. the crowd went crazy, and ashton settled down. duke would be alright.

ashton even watched the post-game media conference, snickering when calum all but admitted to faking an injury, even though ashton would admonish him later in private for scaring the shit out of him.

as ashton prepared for his game against virginia, he felt an overwhelming sense of pressure and dread. it was down to him to give the world a national championship they could talk about. as the teams were introduced, he saw a very familiar face in the VIP front row chairs: calum. he smiled and waved at calum, who shot him a thumbs up. his nerves calmed a bit.

ashton and luke had days where their chemistry was really good, and they had days where their chemistry was ridiculously bad. today, thankfully, was the former. virginia was overwhelmed from the start, and luke and ashton established themselves as a force unheralded in today’s college basketball landscape. the outcome was certain way before the buzzer sounded, and when it did, calum ran over to ashton and gave him a big hug before letting him celebrate with his teammates. ashton could breathe again; his last college basketball game would be against his greatest rival, and his best friend.

as the boys celebrated that night, they promised the other with as much certainty as possible that neither would be mad at the result of the game in three days.

when the day hit, they did some joint media conferences, a public workout session, and pictures before the actual start of the game.

at the joint media session, a reporter asked ashton about his favorite part of his four years at north carolina. ashton, without missing a beat, responded with “matching up with calum twice a year. without calum, i wouldn’t look near as good as i do. we elevate each other’s talent level.”

between the last joint media session and the open practice, luke fell into step with ashton. “i have good news and bad news.” ashton countered with “lay it on me.”

“bad news: michael just came up to me and told me he’s got a boyfriend now.” ashton stopped, floored. “a boyfriend?” luke nodded. “it’s okay, ashton. he thanked me for forcing him to recognize something about himself that he refused to before.” ashton hesitantly continued to walk. “well, as long as you’re okay, luke.”

luke nodded, hurt crossing his face for just a second, before he shook it away and proclaimed “good news! i got a call from the houston rockets, and they want to use their twentieth pick to draft me if i’m still on the board!”

ashton screeched, laughing and picking up luke, throwing him around with joy. “maybe i can tell all the other teams to pass on me so that the rockets will draft me too!” they both cackled, before it really hit ashton that he wouldn’t be with luke anymore after this game. “luke, today is our last game together.” luke nodded sadly. “yeah, but i have a feeling i’ll be seeing you on the court again really soon.”

as the teams were being introduced, he noticed that the crowd was pretty much split down the middle in terms of support. slowly, he made his way out of the tunnel, soaking up the adoration of the crowd. when calum came out, the crowd exploded again. ashton was one of them.

when the game started, both calum and ashton were both locked in to their assignments. they’d been doing amazingly- neither of them had scored at all. the game was tied throughout, with small leads existing and evaporating. at halftime, the score was tied once again, and ashton and calum smiled at each other as they exited either side of the court. they were slowly scoring, but the matchup was anything but boring. in fact, it seemed all eyes were on them every time an intense exchange followed an inbound. ashton had never had so much fun during a game.

when the second half started, both boys kicked it into second gear. they were still defending at an elite rate, but they were finding new, creative ways to keep the score even. calum drew the first foul, and his free throws were perfect, warning ashton not to try anything again. of course, ashton did, and calum missed one, so ashton did it again. he had two fouls left before he fouled out, and there were about three minutes left, but calum was pretty banged up and paranoid from the playful contact ashton kept initiating.

soon enough, duke went up by two, and there were only thirty seconds left. with fifteen seconds left, luke missed a jumpshot, and calum tried to rebound it, but was knocked to the floor in his effort. he got up quickly to defend ashton, who had the ball. ashton drove at the still stunned calum, who backed up, and ashton just smiled, stepped behind the three-point line, and nailed a three-point step back jumper as time expired. in his right ear, he heard the announcers screaming _“poetic justice! the north carolina tar heels are your national champions!”_

in his left ear, however, he heard ashton’s soothing voice whisper “i love you, calum.” after that, calum just couldn’t bring himself to feel like much of a loser.


	14. june 20, 2019 (epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the nba draft, the last chapter, the end of an era, etc. perhaps we should have a sequel? idk. but for now, thank you for reading and enjoying this with me. this story was a grind and i appreciate you coming along and being patient with my maddening process. much love.

calum’s offseason started with a few simple words.

“hi, world. i’m calum hood, shooting guard for duke university, two-time naismith player of the year, and a projected lottery pick in the NBA draft. also, i’m gay."

the video sent the world into a frenzy. he’d endured some hell from former teammates, even some current NBA players. in reality, though, calum didn’t care. he knew it wouldn’t matter on draft day, and that it didn’t affect his talent.

ashton, however, had to start his offseason with a speech.

as he walked up to the stage, he was handed the trophy, emblazoned with _“naismith player of the year”_ in big letters. he thanked his coach, his teammates, and his boyfriend, calum hood. he wasn’t one to get sentimental, so he kept it relatively short, making sure he got everything out before starting to cry tears of joy.

soon after, calum, ashton, luke, michael, and a few others were invited to do a sports illustrated cover for the pre-draft edition. they projected ashton to go first, calum to go second, luke to go fifteenth, and michael to go twenty-eighth. they attributed michael’s rise in draft stock to the game against texas in which he commanded a good portion of the second half after calum faked an injury.

suddenly, summer was over. june 20, 2019 was here, and calum and ashton were in a limousine, in their sharpest (matching) suits, ready to walk the red carpet in los angeles for the 2019 NBA draft. once they exited the limousine, they were blinded by bulb flashes. they smiled, waved, posed, held hands, and calum even snuck a kiss to ashton’s cheek before they slipped into the staples center. as they were introduced to cheers from the crowd, doris burke made their way over with a camera crew. “do you guys have time for an interview?” the boys nodded.

“hi everyone, doris burke here, and tonight is the night! the 2019 NBA draft, presented by ESPN, sponsored by state farm insurance, and i have here with me the predicted number one and two draft picks, in matching tuxedos no less, calum hood and ashton irwin! how are you guys?”

ashton waved and said, “we’re doing okay, trying to ease each other’s nervous energy as best we can.”

doris smiled and began her questioning. “so, which one of you do you guys think will be first, and will there be any hard feelings?” the two boys said the other’s name at the same time, and doris filled it in with “you two are so humble, huh?” which earned a laugh from the two boys.

“calum, how does your head feel? you know scouts were potentially worried about your head and neck health long-term.”

calum sat up a bit straighter, before answering with “honestly, i do get headaches sometimes, but the doctor said that that kind of head injury will persist for a while before it goes away. however, i almost won a national championship with it, so i’m sure i can navigate an NBA season just fine.”

doris then launched into their strengths and weaknesses. “calum, scouts have told me they love your shot creation, rebound ability, and physicality. however, they are concerned about your lack of maturity, inconsistency, and head injury. any last words of encouragement for those scouts?”

calum smiled. “i’ve come a long way in four years, and while i’m still young, i think i have a lot to offer in growth as a player _and_ as a person. as for my head injury, that may be a gamble you have to take if you want me on your team.”

doris nodded and turned to ashton. “ashton, scouts tell me they love your versatility, consistency, spacing, and shooting ability. however, they cite your lackluster rebounding and selfishness with the ball as reasons why they’d take others over you. anything to say to scouts?”

ashton shook his head. “i let my play do the talking, and if you pass on me, you’ll just have to live with that decision. no sweet talk required.”

calum leaned into ashton to whisper “that was sexy.” when doris inquired into the whisper, ashton answered with “he said that it was a good answer.”

once she left, the lights dimmed, and the commissioner of the NBA came out. “welcome, everyone, to the 2019 nba draft. it starts now, and the new orleans pelicans are on the clock!”

calum and ashton nervously chatted with luke and michael, and jack white even came over to say hello and speak some. however, the talking stopped when adam silver walked up to the podium again.

“with the first pick in the 2019 NBA draft, the new orleans pelicans select calum hood, shooting guard, duke university!”

ashton cheered as calum, shocked, began to stand up. quickly, though, he leaned down to hug ashton and whisper “i love you so much. see you soon.” before making his way to the stage. as ashton watched calum put on the navy-colored hat, he didn’t even feel any disappointment. he just felt love and appreciation for the man who told ashton he’d be number one; here he was. number one.

adam silver came back out a short time later.

“with the second pick in the 2019 NBA draft, the memphis grizzlies select ashton irwin, shooting guarding, university of north carolina!”

ashton’s stomach immediately cleared of any nerves as he hugged luke, shook michael’s hand, and started up to the stage. he put on the grizzlies’ hat, smiled for the photo op, and went over to the lounge, where he gave calum a big hug with the cameras flashing.

as they celebrated sometime after, they heard “we have a trade to announce!” which brought their attention back to the commissioner.

“the detroit pistons are trading this pick, fifteenth overall, their 2019 second round pick, and christian wood to the houston rockets for their 2019 first round pick, their 2020 first round pick, and their 2020 second round pick.”

calum and ashton looked at each other knowingly, before looking over at luke, who was now sat at full attention. a few minutes later, adam silver announced the inevitable.

“with the fifteenth pick in the 2019 NBA draft, the houston rockets select luke hemmings, small forward, university of north carolina!”

luke joined them in celebrating, and soon enough, they were all waiting for michael.

adam silver came and went about twelve times before calum and the gang started to worry. all the sports networks were touting michael clifford as the “best available,” and had been for a while now, so why was he falling so far down?

“with the thirtieth pick in the 2019 NBA draft, the milwaukee bucks select michael clifford, small forward, duke university!”

they all cheered, luke less than the others, but ashton and luke both knew this was a big deal to calum. the microphone caught michael telling adam silver that he’d have to dye his hair green, and the audience laughed, which turned michael red in the face.

as they all celebrated, ashton leaned over to calum and whispered “you were right, baby. you are number one. i love you so much.”

calum was on top of the world. ashton wasn’t far behind.


	15. playlist!

hello everyone! i’ve started a playlist for this book! you can find it on apple music- just search “FTWOTW” :) spotify is my next target, but i use apple music more anyway. thank you for all the kudos and comments on the story, i love you all!

playlist link below:  
https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/ftwotw/pl.u-xlyNNkVTJ022E1


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